Phoenix Lament
by WritingPlum
Summary: It started with a snog at a party, which led to nosy friends and a hodgepodge of rumours, but Lara Culpepper could not deny that her life changed forever the night she got involved with Fred Weasley. Throw in the Triwizard Tournament, Death Eaters on the rise and You-Know-Who coming back from the dead, Lara's quiet and simple life will never be the same again…
1. Victor Krum has a Delicious Bum Society

**Chapter 1.**

 ** _Victor Krum has a Delicious Bum Society_**

The 1994 Quidditch World Cup was undoubtedly one of the biggest events to happen in Wizarding Britain for decades. Everyone wanted to go, even those who didn't really like Quidditch. The hype and prestige surrounding the occasion were enough to make even the most unenthusiastic folk desperate to get tickets. For weeks the Department of Magical Games and Sports had been overrun by witches and wizards alike, pushing and shoving their way through the office. The scuffles got so bad that, eventually, the head of the department had to release a media statement, in which he declared:

"My department is a well-respected and valued division of the Ministry. It is _not_ a place for Quidditch supporters to turn one another into canaries."

If anything, this riled up the public even more. By the time the Quidditch World Cup began, the Magical Games Department had three workers in hospital with 'unexplainable injuries,' a leprechaun infestation, and a Bulgarian flag that had been permanently stuck to the wall along with the words 'KISS MY FAT HAIRY ARSE IRELAND.' The department was, quite understandably, glad to see the back of what would later be known as 'The Summer Everyone Nearly Quit.'

Despite these unfortunate affairs, the Quidditch World Cup lived up to all its hysteria. The deserted moor the Ministry had chosen as the venue was filled to the brim with tents, all various shapes, sizes, and colours. Someone had even brought a palatial marquee, which people were both impressed and scandalised by. Thousands and thousands of people milled around the grassland, making pleasantries and eagerly nattering about what to expect in the upcoming days. Bets were being made left, right, and centre, from who was going to win to which player was going to be the most badly injured.

Above all, however, the atmosphere was electric. Everyone was excited to be there, even small children who had no real idea of what was going on around them. The wizarding world was, for the moment at least, relaxed and carefree, with nothing to worry about except overzealous Muggles wandering onto the moorland.

In the middle of the chaos, Lara Culpepper was in the cellar of her tent, looking for the crates of butterbeer her brother had sent her for. Unluckily for her, the crates of beverages weren't the only things in there. There were also dozens of bottles filled with alcohol, cardboard boxes with various contents, a stack of deck chairs, and a six-foot statue of a dragon.

"Why," Lara whispered into the stuffy room, staring at the menacing-looking dragon in front of her. "Why would he have this?"

Her elder brother, Walter, was a rather strange person all around. He ate only extremely spicy foods, his t-shirts all had slogans on them, he wore glasses with a rainbow-coloured frame, and he once dove into Hogwarts Lake just to try talking to the giant squid. He now worked in the Beast Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry, specialising in dragons. His parents hadn't been happy, having expected him to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but Walter had a love for animals that couldn't be crushed.

Proven by his _giant_ model of what Lara was pretty sure was a Peruvian Vipertooth, the most venomous dragon to exist.

(Lara also loved animals—she was waiting to break it to her parents.)

Sighing mostly out of befuddlement, Lara turned away from the figure and went to continue searching the cellar. She pointed her lit wand into the right-hand corner and was about to move on when she spotted a crate with the word 'butterbeer' scrawled across the front. She hurried forward and grabbed two, hoping that if she took an extra crate upstairs she wouldn't have to return. It was a struggle to carry them such a distance, but eventually she stumbled out of the tent, practically throwing the crates onto the grass at her feet.

"I'm _not_ going back down there," she declared loudly. "It's creepy and cold."

"We'll take turns," said Stanley Thruston as he walked over and began to hand out the butterbeers. "And by take turns, I mean I'll make Omar go down when he's drunk."

"Yeah, well, watch out for the dragon."

Omar Shafiq almost spat out his first mouthful of butterbeer at Lara's warning. " _Dragon_?" he repeated nervously. "What dragon?"

"My brother has a six-foot statue of a Vipertooth down there," Lara sighed, accepting the bottle Stan handed to her. "I almost had a bloody heart attack."

"Why is it here?" asked Erin Goodwin. She was sitting on the grass with her head angled towards the sky, where the sun hung low among the thin clouds. "What purpose does it have at the Quidditch Cup?"

"Why does Walter do _anything_?"

Amanda Chambers laughed from her place beside Erin, her face half-obscured by a pair of large sunglasses. "That's a brilliant question, Lara," she grinned without looking up. "Speaking of, where's he gone? I haven't heard him for a while now."

"Went over there somewhere." Stan waved his hand around behind him. "Honestly, I just let him do his own thing."

"Probably for the best," commented Omar, taking another gulp of his beer.

Lara shook her head and looked in the direction Stan had pointed. Sure enough, her brother was standing in the distance talking to someone. With the sun determinedly bright today, his conversational partner was not easily recognisable, their body hidden by the vivid rays. Lara sighed and marched over, intent on both yelling at him for the dragon and dragging him back over to the tent. Their parents had made Walter come with her as a 'chaperone,' but it felt more like _she_ was babysitting _him_.

It also didn't help that he'd recently broken up with his girlfriend, who had been planning to tag along with the group. Stacey was more grounded and less flighty than Walter, often pointing out that he was supposed to be an _adult_. This, however, had proven to be their downfall; Walter broke up with her the previous week, his reasoning being that he felt like she 'smothered' him. For all intents and purposes, it was probably true. Still, Lara wished he'd waited just _one more_ week before he did it. That way she wouldn't be the one running after him all the time.

"Walter, don't go wandering off," Lara called out to her brother, who turned towards her with an easy grin. "Remember what happened last night?"

Last night, Walter had gotten chatting with a woman who turned out to be a Bulgarian supporter with less than admirable intentions. After searching for him for hours with her friends, Lara had found her brother tied to a lamppost with 'I'm an Irish LOSER' written across his forehead. The only reason Lara didn't completely lose her mind over this was because there were four _other_ boys tied up in the same vicinity. Apparently the woman was part-veela, and getting men to follow her to a 'party'—that turned out to be just her in the middle of a field, where she hexed the boys mercilessly—was less than difficult.

They'd found another six this morning.

"Last night?" Walter's companion questioned. "What happened?"

The sun now on the side of her face instead of in front of her, Lara could clearly see who Walter was talking to. It was Charlie Weasley, her brother's best friend from school. They'd been in the same year, same house, on the Quidditch team together—Charlie as a Seeker, Walter as a Chaser—and had gone into similar professions, though Charlie had moved to Romania and Walter had stayed in England. (Lara would faint at the very suggestion that he move away from her.)

"He got tied to a lamppost—"

"Shhhhh," Walter hissed to his sister, pinching the top of her arm as she grinned at him. "Nothing happened."

"A lamppost?" Another person spoke from Charlie's side, sounding thoroughly amused.

"Wait, were you one of those guys? The ones the veela tricked?"

Lara glanced over towards the eerily similar voices. She didn't know why she was so shocked to find Fred and George Weasley staring back at her given that they were Charlie's brothers, but she was.

"Hey, listen, okay," Walter huffed as the twins sniggered. "She was very charming and _very_ persuasive. I didn't even realise what was happening until I started to get hoisted into the air."

"You're an idiot," muttered Lara flatly.

"Nah, he's just a man," one of the twins grinned, patting Walter on the back. "It's alright, mate. Could happen to the best of us."

"Don't encourage him," Lara scoffed to the redheaded boy. "You weren't the one looking for him at half two this morning."

"Have you ever _seen_ a veela?" the other twin, the one not comforting Walter, asked. "Even Merlin himself would struggle to deny one."

"Then Merlin himself is stupid."

"Aw, don't be jealous, Culpepper," the first twin grinned.

"Yeah, I'm sure there's plenty of Quidditch players for you to ogle."

" _So_ not my point," she muttered bitterly. "Although Krum is pretty hot…"

The second twin gasped and glared. "Traitor!"

"I still don't support Bulgaria, you numpty," snapped Lara. "I just appreciate that Krum has a rather delicious bum."

The first twin laughed heartily. "Numpty. Such an underused insult."

"You can join Ron's fan club, then, if you like," Charlie smirked, and the twins giggled. "He's setting one up, I think. _Ron Weasley and the Victor Krum has a Delicious Bum Society_."

"It rhymes, too," nodded the second twin.

"I think it's meant to be."

Lara peered at the three redheaded brothers with a small smile, her eyes focusing more on the twins. Charlie Weasley she knew pretty well; he'd spent endless days with Walter during their Hogwarts years, including holidays, which they usually spent at the Culpeppers' because the Weasleys' place was so busy. She rather liked him—and she also knew Amanda had a major crush on him—but it was the twins that intrigued her.

Although in the same house as her, the twins were in the year below Lara, heading into their sixth year in September while Lara began the dreaded N.E.W.T.s year. They were extraordinary pranksters and, from what Lara had heard, pretty smart, too. Rumours swirling around Hogwarts said that they were making their own range of joke products, their intention being to open up their own store one day. This, along with their positions on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and ability to make anyone (except Snape) laugh, made them rather popular.

And, to Lara's surprise, they'd gotten quite good-looking. They were taller than she remembered them being, with shaggy red hair and angular freckled faces. Like Charlie, they were stocky and sturdy, with thick shoulders and arms that screamed 'HEY, WE'RE BEATERS.'

She'd hardly ever spoken to them—she'd never really had a reason to, except to yell at them when they pranked her—but she'd always wondered what they were really like. All she heard was gossip, the occasional 'Fred and George are in detention _again_ ' from their friends, and sometimes she caught them executing a prank. They were like one big, funny, ginger puzzle that Lara kind of wanted to figure out.

But then again, they were really _loud_. And she had a feeling they'd eventually get on her nerves.

"Don't get tied to a lamppost again," she warned her brother, thumping his arm. "I swear to Merlin, Walt."

"I'll be over in a minute," he replied unconcernedly. "Go have fun with your friends."

She rolled her eyes at him but did as he said, nodding goodbye to the three Weasley brothers before she headed back over to the tent. Her friends hadn't moved since she'd left them; Erin and Amanda were on the grass sunbathing while Omar and Stan sat on two deck chairs talking about the Quidditch match.

"Where is he?" Stan asked as Lara flopped to the ground, lying on her back to stare at the sky.

"Talking to Charlie Weasley," Lara replied. "He promised not to get kidnapped by a veela again, but who knows?"

"Charlie Weasley?" Amanda instantly rolled onto her stomach, putting her sunglasses onto her head to look at Lara. "He's _here_?"

"I think the whole family is. Fred and George were there, too."

"Interesting," smirked Amanda.

"Don't say it like that," Omar grumbled into his butterbeer bottle. "You sound perverted."

"Fred and George are more her age, though," Erin said. "And they, you know, live in Britain. That's a big plus."

"A Ravenclaw that fancies the Weasley twins. Now _that's_ one for the history books," Lara teased her friend.

Amanda shrugged, a bright smile on her face. "They do say opposites attract."

"But which one would you choose?" Erin asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"I dunno. Is there a difference?"

"They're not a connected mass, Mandy," snorted Lara. "They're individuals."

"Can _you_ tell them apart?"

Lara clicked her tongue; she was more likely to have a date with a Hippogriff than to know which twin was which. There was a joke around school that even their own mother couldn't tell them apart.

"She clicks her tongue when she doesn't know what to say," Erin said simply. "Which means no, she can't tell them apart. I'm pretty sure George is the more sensitive one, though. Fred's apparently got a shorter temper."

"And you know this _how_?" asked Stan.

"Girls' bathroom," Erin fired back as if he was being totally stupid.

"Probably George, then," Amanda murmured, rolling onto her back again. "Fred and I would kill each other. You know how I get."

Everyone else nodded; they'd all been on the receiving end of Amanda's temper before and none of them particularly wanted to relive it.

"Anyway, straying away from topic of the Weasley twins' animal magnetism," Omar said sarcastically, throwing Stan a long-suffering look. "Someone needs to go get more butterbeer, and I'm not drunk enough yet."

"Be careful of the dragon," Lara murmured distractedly to whoever the unlucky bugger was, and took another drink of her beer.

* * *

 **Sooooooooo…I have a new story! Over three years after I finished my last one...I swear it doesn't feel that long…**

 **This is Phoenix Lament, the story of Lara Culpepper. It follows the books, so if you've only seen the films there might be a few things that are different to how you remember them. Also follows canon storyline. Let me know what you think!**

 **Also***********disclaimer. I don't, and never will (sadly), own Harry Potter in any way, shape or form.**

 **Edit: So, after years struggling with punctuation and capital letters, I finally have a beta!** **Le soleil brille pas pour toi kindly offered to help me out and she's fabulous. I can finally post chapters and not completely stress out about all the mistakes haha! Anyway, go check out her stories!**


	2. COME ON YOU BOYS IN GREEN

**Chapter 2.**

 ** _COME ON YOU BOYS IN GREEN_**

By the time the gong sounded from the stadium, signalling the beginning of the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, the excitement in the air was tangible. Everyone was kitted out in either Irish green or Bulgarian red, animatedly chatting, joking, and even singing as they queued along the lantern-lit pathway. Up ahead, the large, oval stadium glowed gold between the trees of the woods, like a light at the end of a very long, very dark tunnel.

"It's bloody _gigantic_ ," murmured Walter in amazement, staring up at the enormous golden walls surrounding the pitch. "It must fit at least fifty thousand."

"A hundred thousand, actually," Omar said, looking impressed as he admired the building. "I read it in the _Daily Prophet_ last week."

"Nerd," coughed Stan good-naturedly, and Omar threw him a quick glare. "Just because you're a Ravenclaw doesn't mean you have to know _everything_."

"No, it just means we know more than Gryffindors," Amanda said sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

"We are _not_ having a fight about our houses right now," Erin warned sternly. In her hand was a small figurine of Aiden Lynch, the Irish Seeker, which cartwheeled and waved at passers-by. "I paid fourteen galleons for a seat to watch the final, not to hear you lot argue about the logistics of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor."

The friends glanced at one another, sharing amused smirks.

"Fine," Stan said eventually, nodding his head. "I'll shut up."

"Gryffindor is _way_ better, though," mumbled Walter, and Amanda reached over to smack the back of his head.

The Ministry witch at the ticket desk pointed the group in the direction of their seats. After climbing several flights of purple-carpeted stairs, Lara burst through a gate and found herself in the middle of a stadium. She could see thousands and thousands of seats filled with witches and wizards of all ages. Below she could see the bright green plains of grass, and on either end of the pitch three bright gold hoops stood proudly, glinting in the misty golden hue of the Quidditch stadium.

"Oh _Merlin_ ," Lara gasped as Walter came up beside her, grabbing his arm with anticipation. "Walt, _look_."

"I see it," her brother replied laughingly. "This is going to be _amazing_."

The rest of the group traipsed through the gate. Erin ended up in Lara's arms, having tripped over someone's foot in the haste to get upstairs. Grinning at her disgruntled friend, Lara took Erin's hand and headed up the stairs towards their seats. Lara ended up between her brother and Erin, her green rosette spinning and whizzing on her chest. Her Irish flag was held firmly in her right hand.

The rest of the stadium filled quickly, the noise level becoming deafening. The whole building seemed to quiver as everyone waited for the game to start. In the next stand over, a group of—probably drunk—men had their arms wrapped around one another, swaying from side to side as they sang.

" _COME ON YOU BOYS IN GREEN,_

 _COME ON YOU BOYS IN GREEN,_

 _IRISH 'TIL THE END,_

 _COME ON YOU BOYS IN GREEN!_ "

"Aren't there girls on the Irish team?" Erin spoke in Lara's ear.

"Two. Doesn't really fit the chant, though, does it?"

Erin looked confused, but nodded and leaned back in her seat. Erin didn't actually like Quidditch all that much, despite the fact that she'd paid a hefty amount to be here. Lara suspected she'd come along just so she didn't miss out. As the only Muggle-born of the group, Erin already struggled adjusting to Hogwarts life each year after a summer of being with her Muggle family. Her parents were unnerved by owls coming to their windows and the moving pictures in the _Daily Prophet_ , so Erin usually spent the train ride back to school catching up on what she'd missed.

The Quidditch Cup was something Lara and her friends would talk about for _weeks_ to come. And Erin would balk at the thought of not being involved; political changes and school gossip were one thing, but the Quidditch Cup was an entirely different league.

Walter nudged Lara in the ribs, turning her attention to him. "Do you think I have time to—"

"Ladies and gentlemen… welcome!" a voice suddenly rang out across the stadium. "Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

The listeners broke into tremendous applause and yells. Lara leapt to her feet along with the rest of the stand, waving her Irish flag in the air enthusiastically. She could feel the floor vibrating under her feet with the pressure of so many people jumping up and down.

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce… the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

"Oh, _shite_ ," Walter cursed and ducked his head behind Lara, his hands on her shoulders. "Tell me when it's over!"

"When _what's_ over—"

But Lara's question was quickly answered. About a hundred veela swept onto the pitch, all astonishingly beautiful, their skin gleaming like untouched snow, their hair long golden manes swinging out behind them. They began to dance, slow and rhythmic at first, then faster and faster, throwing out their arms gracefully and shimmying to an electric beat.

Lara blinked rapidly, rather shocked by the change of atmosphere. Walter let out a little whimper behind her, probably remembering his last encounter with a veela only last night. Meanwhile, Erin had to grab Stan before he made a dive for the pitch, and Omar was attempting to climb over the woman in front of him, his hand on her displeased face.

"Sorry, sorry," Amanda squeaked to the woman, though she sounded more amused than anything. "Omar, come _back_ —stop it—"

The veela stopped dancing and the crowd—or, rather, the _males_ of the crowd—cried out in anger. Stan began to spout off a long string of swear words that made Erin elbow him in the ribs and snap, "There are _children_ here, you _git_."

Stan blinked at her dazedly, as if seeing her for the first time. "What?" he muttered distractedly.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," sighed Erin, as the commentators voice echoed through the stadium again.

"And now, kindly put your wands in the air… for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

Walter let out a relieved breath and came out from behind Lara. Rolling her eyes at him, Lara leaned forward to watch as a comet of leprechauns zoomed around the pitch, breaking off into two smaller groups before hurdling to the goalposts. A rainbow appeared across the pitch, connecting the two leprechaun colonies, and when the colours had faded, a large gleaming shamrock emerged. There was a moment's pause before golden objects began to fall from the sky.

"What a show!" yelled Amanda brightly, clapping along with the other Irish supporters.

"And now," the man yelled over the noise as the leprechauns settled opposite the veela to watch the match, "ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome—the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you—Dimitrov! Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaaaaaand—Krum!"

As Lara admired the red-clad Quidditch players, he spoke again.

"And now, please greet—the Irish National Quidditch Team! Presenting—Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaand— _Lynch_! And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!"

Lara sucked in an excited breath; this was it! The start of the Quidditch final! She held her breath as the four Quidditch balls rushed into the air. Mostafa placed the silver whistle around his neck into his mouth and, with one sharp blow, he zoomed into the air after the balls.

"Theeeeey're OFF!" yelled the commentator as the crowd cheered. "And it's Mullet! Troy! Moran! Dimitrov! Back to Mullet! Troy! Levski! Moran!"

"Bloody hell," Erin said breathlessly as the players shot through the air.

Lara threw her a quick smile. Erin had only seen school Quidditch matches, which she was dragged along to by her friends for a bit of fun. But professional Quidditch, especially the National teams, was a whole different experience. The agility, speed, and talent of the players were unfathomable, almost too fast to keep up with. Lara had been to a few games before with Walter, so she understood how overwhelming the matches could be sometimes. Erin, however, had no idea. For the first time, she actually looked a little interested in a Quidditch game.

"TROY SCORES!" the man screamed, and the Irish side of the stadium exploded with cheers. "Ten-zero to Ireland!"

"GO ON, TROY!" shrieked Stan, as the leprechauns formed the glittering shamrock again.

It was known across the world that the Irish chasers were incredible. The media often joked that they must have been separated at birth because of their uncanny ability to read one another's minds. This was proven, once again, by their seamless performance at the final. Within minutes, the score was thirty-zero to Ireland and all the Irish supporters were absolutely agog.

This was when the match turned brutal, the Bulgarian beaters growing fierce and aggressive. The Irish chasers were thrown into disarray, their best moves prevented from being executed. Eventually, Ivanova managed to score Bulgaria's first goal.

"Argh!" Walter squeaked as the veela began to dance in celebration.

Lara reached over to cover Walter's eyes as he stuck his fingers into his ears. After a few seconds, the veela settled back onto their benches, and Lara let go of her brother to focus on the game again. The Bulgarian team had possession of the quaffle but suddenly, Krum and Lynch began to dive towards the ground.

The crowd gasped and choked. Erin grabbed hold of Lara's arm and squealed, "They're going to _crash_!"

However, only Lynch smacked into the ground, as Krum spiralled off into the air at the last second. Lara cringed along with the rest of the Irish supporters as mediwizards hurried onto the pitch to check the Seeker.

"Damn, that's gotta hurt," mumbled Omar, shaking his head wearily. "I hope he can play on."

"He only got ploughed!" Walter yelled, as if Lynch had simply pulled a muscle. "He'll be right as rain!"

He was right; Lynch got to his feet and mounted his broom. The Irish supporters yelled out in support, and the group of drunken men began to sing again, this time in a rather hearty, spirited tune.

" _Lynch, Lynch,_

 _We love you Lynch,_

 _And we think Krum,_

 _Looks like a bum._ "

"Original," snorted Walter as the game continued.

Lara nodded as she noticed some Bulgarians who must have heard the Irish supporters' chant. Angry and ruffled, the Bulgarians began to sing back to the tune of a well-known _Weird Sisters_ song. " _OH! CAN YOU CATCH A SNITCH LIKE KRUM? MA-MA-MA, MA-MA-MA, MA-MA-MA!_ "

The game got dirtier, along with the language of the Quidditch supporters, as Ireland scored another ten goals. Suddenly, Mullet shot towards the goalposts and Zograf flew out to meet her, elbowing his way to the front. The Irish supporters flew into a fit of rage that was quickly validated; Mostafa blew his whistle and Ireland were given a penalty.

This did little to diffuse the budding tension. The leprechauns taunted the veela by forming the words 'HA HA HA' and the blond creatures leapt to their feet, flipped their hair, and began to dance furiously. As the males in the stadium cringed and desperately covered their ears, Mostafa abandoned the game and landed in front of the veela, staring at them, transfixed, as he flexed his muscles.

"What is he _doing_?" screamed Erin, throwing herself forward to look over the heads of the people in front of her.

"Somebody slap the referee!" the commentator's voice boomed across the stadium over the yells of outrage.

Lara grabbed Walter's shoulder, shaking him to attention as a mediwizard came running across the pitch to the referee and kicked him in the knee. Mostafa, embarrassed and bright red, began to yell at the veela.

"Doesn't he know what veela can turn into?" Walter flinched worriedly. "Oh, this won't go well…"

He was right. The game had only just begun again when Moran was nearly knocked off her broom by Dimitrov. The leprechauns rose into the air, forming a giant hand that made a _very_ rude gesture to the veela. Within the blink of an eye, the stunning women turned into birdlike creatures, throwing balls of fire towards the small creatures opposite them.

"Oh, shit," laughed Omar, who looked thoroughly enthralled by the turn of events. "I think I finally understand the meaning of 'never judge a book by its cover'!"

"The _game_ ," hissed Amanda, turning the group's attention back to the Quidditch players.

"MORAN SCORES!"

" _YES_!" the Irish supporters yelled out, though it was hardly audible above the veela's screams.

Lara was so busy watching the veela battle with a troupe of Ministry workers that she missed Krum's nose being broken. When the crowd let out groans of pain, she looked up to see a gush of blood coming from the Bulgarian Seeker's face. Beside her, Erin turned a little green and covered her eyes.

"He needs that fixed!" Stan yelled concernedly. "I mean, jeez, look at him—"

He was cut off, however, by the screams of the Irish crowd. Lynch had spotted the Snitch and was making a dive for it.

" _LYNCH! LYNCH! LYNCH! LYNCH! LYNCH!_ "

"Oh Merlin!" yelled Walter as a bleeding Krum caught up with Lynch, hurtling downward. "He's going to crash—"

Lynch collided with the ground, skidding along the grass before disappearing under a herd of angry veela. Cringing at his misfortune, Lara looked up at the sky again, searching for the Snitch and wondering if the Irish team could put on their reserve Seeker to continue the game…

"IRELAND WINS!" screamed the commentator, causing confusion among the many in the crowd who had no idea what was going on. "KRUM GETS THE SNITCH—BUT IRELAND WINS—good Lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"

The Irish burst into joyous applause. Walter turned to Lara and brought her into a hug, both of them jumping up and down as they screamed with delight. Several of the group of singing men burst into tears, blubbering about Irish pride. Bulgarian fans were either angrily shouting abuse or lamenting how unlucky the circumstances were; it was almost unheard of for a team to catch the Snitch and _not_ win.

"And as the Irish team performs a lap of honour, flanked by their mascots, the Quidditch World Cup itself is brought into the Top Box! Let's have a really loud hand for the gallant losers—Bulgaria!"

The crowd, even the Irish supporters, clapped admiringly, for Krum, at least, had put on a good show. Lara could just barely see several red-robed figures shaking hands with two men at the top of the stands. As the Irish team was introduced, her eyes slid across the illuminated box, noticing a gathering of red hair that _had_ to be the Weasleys'. A smirk came onto her face at the thought.

"Poor Lynch," murmured Omar as the Irish team returned to the pitch to do another lap of honour, the Seeker on the back of Connolly's broom. "He looks like he's been stepped on by a giant."

"He won, though. I don't think he'll care how," shrugged Walter, then turned to the group and clapped his hands happily. "So, who's up for a celebration?"

 **oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

" _CAN YOU DANCE LIKE A HIPPOGRIFF? MA-MA-MA, MA-MA-MA, MA-MA-MA!_ "

"I liked the Bulgarian version better," smirked Stan, having to lean forward and shout into Lara's ear over the roaring music.

"Very creative," Lara agreed tipsily. "I especially liked their dance moves along with it."

Stan grinned and leaned back in his seat again, kicking his legs up to lie across Lara's lap. They were the only two sitting down at the moment, choosing to disengage from the throng of people in the middle of the tent while they opened their next drinks. Around them, about sixty people were stuffed into Walter's tent, dancing and cheering to the music blasting from a wireless in the corner.

People had been turning up all night, popping in for a quick chat and dance before heading to the next celebrating tent. It was a constant stream of people, the faces of the crowd changing every time Lara had a good look. The only constants were her friends and Walter, all of whom were spread across the tent in various states of drunkenness. Erin was dancing with a rather tall blond man, Walter and Omar were on a table showing the crowd how to do the _real_ Hippogriff dance, and Amanda was having an animated conversation with a group of women about the match.

The atmosphere was almost as electric as it had been at the stadium. For all his annoying habits, at least Walter knew how to throw a good party.

"Shall we dance?" Lara yelled towards her friend, pushing his legs off her lap.

Stan shrugged and put his beer onto the floor. "Sure, come on then, blondie."

They made their way into the throng of people, coming up beside Erin, who threw them a happy wave. Another _Weird Sisters_ song blasted through the speakers, just as upbeat and fast as _Do the Hippogriff_. Stan grabbed Lara's hand and pulled it in an arch, throwing her into a fast, dazing spin. Laughing, unable to keep the grin off her face from the _goodness_ of it all, Lara moved her hips to the beat, her skin warm and sweaty.

The two were dancing to their fourth song, a shrill beat with no words that had everyone jumping up and down, when a scream sounded from outside the tent. A few people froze, peering towards the noise suspiciously, but shrugged it off as a part of the celebrations. But then another scream echoed… and another and another.

Someone rushed over to the radio, hastily switching it off. Lara could feel the thumping of her heart as the whole party stood in silence, awaiting another noise, another sign that something _different_ was going on outside. Already, Lara could tell that the atmosphere had changed; the music and the singing had stopped, and it sounded like people were running past the tent.

" _Death Eaters_!" screamed a woman from outside as she sprinted past the open door, a flurry of limbs and dark hair.

Like a snap of someone's fingers, the party split off, everyone running out into the night. Stan grabbed both Erin and Lara, pulling them towards him as the desperate crowd trampled past, pushing and shoving one another out the way.

"Omar, Mandy!" Stan's voice boomed across the room. " _Walter_!"

"Over here!" Lara's brother called out, then appeared at Stan's side with Omar and Amanda.

"Surely that woman was wrong," murmured Amanda worriedly, grabbing onto Walter's arm with both hands. "It can't be… _those_."

"It's probably the Bulgarians getting testy," Omar said, though he didn't sound convinced.

"I'll check it out," Walter muttered and headed into the night.

Lara's heart was in her throat as she watched him go. She wanted to go with him, or at least shout out for him to be careful, but her body seemed frozen and her words caught in her throat. The sudden shift of mood was discombobulating on its own, but with the alcohol flooding her system, she felt utterly dazed.

 _Death Eaters?_

Walter was gone for what seemed like a century, though it was actually around thirty seconds. He marched back into the tent with his wand drawn, a serious and hard look on his face. Instantly, Lara knew something was wrong.

"You lot have to go," he said hurriedly. "Get into the woods, okay? And stick together, for the love of Merlin."

"Why? What's going on?" asked Erin breathlessly.

"Nothing good," was all Walter replied before shoving them towards the exit. "I'm helping out the Ministry. I'll catch up with you in a bit, okay?"

And then he was gone, disappearing behind a row of tents. Lara sucked in a breath—he couldn't just _leave_. And what the hell was he leaving _for_?

"Come on, La," said Stan, tugging on her hand.

Lara unconsciously began to move as Stan dragged her towards the woods. Glancing over her shoulder, half-hoping she'd spot Walter running after them, she saw a dark mass of people in the distance. They marched as if they were in the army, their wands pointed upwards as they laughed and yelled out delightedly. Their masked faces glinted in the dimming firelight, showing a silver armour that obscured their identities. Lara's eyes slipped up to what their wands were aimed at, and instantly wished she hadn't.

Up above, four withering and floppy figures were being knotted and twisted like dough, as if the wizards on the ground were playing with them. It didn't take a genius to figure out they were being tortured in the air. Lara felt an urge to vomit, and nearly did when she noticed how _small_ two of the shapes were.

"Oh my God," gasped Erin tearfully, for she had stopped to see what Lara was staring at.

"That's disgusting!" Omar yelped, sounding like he was about to collapse onto the ground. "Absolutely horrible! What the _hell_ …"

"Guys, we have to go," Amanda whispered, her eyes wide with fear. "Come _on_."

Lara turned away from the four shapes, unable to take it anymore. She carefully grabbed hold of Erin's hand and dragged her towards the woods, Erin sobbing into her free hand. The further away they got from the main area of the campsite, the more difficult it got to see. Dark figures rushed around in front of Lara, both children and adults, desperate to get away from the hooded criminals. In the distance she could hear children sobbing, terrified and anxious, while others shouted out for loved ones and scrambled into the trees.

"Don't split up, alright?" Lara turned towards her friends, squeezing Erin's hand as she spoke. "Wands out, too."

The group pulled their wands out from various places—Amanda reached into her coat, Omar his trouser pocket, and Stan from his waistband—before heading into the woods. Lara grabbed her own wand from her right boot, pointing it in front of her in case someone jumped out. Her brain was still foggy from the alcohol, but she was pretty sure she'd be able to cast a good jinx if needed.

The five friends rushed along a pathway in the woods, tripping every now and then and letting out huffs of annoyance. They passed several groups on their way, including some goblins and a veela being tailed by a group of admiring boys, and eventually got to a small, quiet clearing where a large bunch of people had gathered. Someone was talking loudly about 'strength in numbers' as Lara came to a halt, gathering her friends around her.

"It's alright, Erin. Please stop crying…" Stan muttered uncomfortably, patting her on the back.

"It's just so _horrible_ ," whispered the girl, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "Who would _do_ that?"

Lara wanted to say that she knew plenty of people who would do it, but held her tongue. Erin didn't know much about the war, and Lara wasn't about to worry her. Stan glanced towards Lara, who shrugged, and he sighed softly. "I don't know, Erin. I don't know."

Someone nearby lit up the end of their wand, illuminating the small space with a sliver of bright light. Lara could see several more people turning up in the clearing, each looking as confused and scared as the next. Just as she was about to try to comfort Erin again, she saw a flash of red, and Omar turned just in time to reach out and catch a stumbling Weasley twin.

"You alright, mate?" Omar asked as the twin straightened, grumbling under his breath.

"Yeah, thanks. Tripped over a bloody rabbit hole or something." He glanced back to the ground accusingly, then turned towards the group of friends. "You lot okay?"

"Yeah, are you?" Stan questioned. "Where's your, eh… twin?"

"Over there—Fred, Ginny!" the twin that must have been George yelled out, making a 'come here' movement with his hand.

Fred appeared with Ginny clutching his hand. He looked perplexed, though his expression softened slightly when he saw the group of seventh years. "Hey, you lot alright?" he asked.

"We're fine—" Lara was interrupted as Erin let out another sob. "—sort of. You?"

"Except for George needing a piss, we're fantastic." He threw a sarcastic glare to his twin, who huffed. "Did you relieve yourself?"

"Yeah, and then tripped over," George snorted. "Bloody rabbits…"

"I can't believe this," Amanda said breathlessly, shuffling from foot to foot as she glanced back towards the campsite. "I didn't think Death Eaters existed anymore."

"It's not Death Eaters, it's wannabe Death Eaters," Stan grumbled. "I mean, it _has_ to be, right?"

Omar, his right-hand man, nodded supportively. "I read somewhere that Death Eaters have been pretty much non-existent since the war. They lost their nerve after You-Know-Who snuffed it."

"Maybe it's just the Bulgarians," Erin whispered hopefully.

"I mean, if it is, I feel like they're taking the term _sore loser_ a bit far," Fred said, biting his bottom lip. "Nobody cares about Quidditch that much, not even Wood."

"Well, he did try to drown himself in the showers," muttered George.

"Yeah, _himself_ ," Fred threw back. "Not himself and four innocent Muggles."

Ginny sucked in a sharp breath. His eyebrows knitting worriedly, Fred bent down to mutter something quietly to his sister, who nodded at his words. Lara sighed loudly and looked towards the dark pathway that led to the main area; she wanted Walter. He'd be able to calm her nerves and make her feel better. Though they teased each other mercilessly, the siblings were closer than they cared to admit.

"What's that?" Omar suddenly yelped, pointing into the sky.

Lara turned to look. For a second, she was blinded by a green light, brighter than the lights in the Quidditch stadium. Then, before her very eyes, the greenness took on the form of a large skull with a snake lolling out of its mouth like a sharp tongue. The figure flew higher and higher into the sky, green smoke billowing out beneath it.

The whole clearing burst into horrified screams. Amanda crouched down, her hands over her mouth as she stared up at the scene in front of her. Omar and Stan swore loudly, while Fred pushed Ginny behind him and George flinched.

"What is it?" Erin whispered, grabbing Lara's hand desperately. "La, what _is_ that?"

"The Dark Mark," murmured Lara, gulping thickly. "It… You-Know-Who used it as a symbol."

Erin gasped and new tears sprang into her eyes.

"I'm heading back to the campsite," Lara said suddenly, turning away from the skull in the sky. "I need to find Walter—I can't think—I need to find him."

"I'll come with you," Fred offered quickly.

"We should all head back," Omar said shakily. "I can't hear their shouting anymore—I think they've gone."

Other people seemed to think so, too. The crowd in the clearing was thinning, people rushing back down the dark pathway to the campsite. Without a second thought, Lara broke off, pointing her illuminated wand in front of her. She could hear the shouts of her friends behind her but all she could think about was finding her brother, who was out there alone and tipsy fighting _Death Eaters_ , of all things. For some reason, they seemed even more menacing than the thought of dragons.

She headed back towards the tent, hoping he would go there to wait for her. She was running down a trampled pathway when her name was called out in the night.

"Walter!" She turned towards her brother, who stood in the distance waving at her. "Oh thank _Merlin_ —"

She sprinted forward, pulling him into a tight hug before inspecting him for injuries. Except for a cut on his eyebrow and a rip in his t-shirt, he seemed rather unharmed.

"Are you okay?" the two siblings asked each other at the same time.

"I'm fine," Lara replied with a small smile. "We found a clearing and we just waited it out… but the mark, Walt…"

"I know. Everyone's freaking out about it."

"Understandably, I'd say," a Scottish voice said from somewhere behind Walter. Peering around her brother's body, Lara saw Oliver Wood standing with his wand in hand, arms crossed as he angrily glared at the Dark Mark hanging in the sky. "My parents have told me some horror stories about that thing."

"Ollie." Lara grinned towards the former Gryffindor captain. "Where did you come from?"

"We ran into each other trying to hex the Death Eaters," Walter answered as Oliver rolled his eyes at Lara's nickname for him. "He stopped me from getting my arse kicked a couple of times before I sobered up."

"What were you thinking, running into a fight half-plastered?" Oliver sighed loudly, shaking his head. "Same old Walter."

"He loves me, really."

"You're still an idiot."

"Thanks, Ollie," Lara said gratefully. "I mean, Oliver."

Oliver smirked amusedly. "Don't try and butter me up _now_ , kid. I've already saved his life."

"That's a bit extreme," scoffed Walter. "They were simple hexes—"

"I saw a flash of green."

"It was a leprechaun."

The two former Quidditch mates glared good-naturedly at each other. Back when Walter was on the Gryffindor team, he'd served with Oliver for two years until he graduated with Charlie. Lara had crossed paths with Oliver a few times during her first two years at Hogwarts, usually when she went to look for her brother and found him hanging out with his team. She'd called him 'Ollie,' thinking it was a natural nickname, and he'd flinched in a way that told her she was wrong. Still, he never corrected her, probably too scared about invoking Walter's wrath if he gave her lip, and the nickname had stuck.

"Lara! _Lara_!" Erin's worried voice rang across the campsite. "Oh, _there_ you are! And Walter, oh thank _God_ —"

"Can we get out of here?" Amanda asked Walter, grabbing hold of his arm. "Please, Walt. I can't stay here."

"We'll head for the Portkey area—the Ministry's setting up some early ones, but there's a queue," Walter said.

"Of course there's a queue," muttered Omar bitterly as the group began to trudge towards the campsite entrance. "It's _Britain._ "

* * *

 **Most of the chapter was taken straight from the books, so I'm sorry if it was a bit repetitive! But it was all necessary for the story to move forward. I hope you enjoyed it anyway!**

 **Thanks for the support for the last chapter guys. You're the best.**

 **Next chapter sometime next week...and it's called 'Are you _sniffing_ the drinks?'...you can make your own conclusions...**


	3. Are you sniffing the drinks?

**Chapter 3.**

 ** _Are you sniffing the drinks?_**

As it turned out, they did not return home until early the next morning. The Ministry were hastily setting up Portkeys, but were running out of objects to charm, as everyone at the campsite wanted to return home as quickly as possible. After an hour of battling with three Ministry workers, Walter announced to the group that they would have to wait their turn. So with huffy sighs and a tired groan from Stan, Lara and her friends sat upon the grassy hill with stilted patience as Walter returned to their campsite to pack up the tent.

Lara fell asleep within the hour, her head on Stan's thigh and her legs tangled with Erin's. She was awoken only a short time later, the sky still black with the beginnings of grey and gold, by Omar tickling her ribs.

"We gotta go," he murmured sleepily, as he'd only just opened his eyes himself. "Portkey's ready."

He helped Lara to her feet and they stumbled forward to where the others were waiting. On the ground was what looked like muggle rubbish, possibly some sort of drinking container as it seemed to be slightly wet. While Lara tried to guess the material of the object (plaster? Plonker? Plastic...it definitely began with a 'p'), Amanda looked hesitant to touch it.

"Come on," sighed Erin, bending down to place her fingers on the plastic. "Let's get out of here."

Lara wholeheartedly agreed; all she wanted was a proper sleep, somewhere warm and with a comfy pillow that wasn't her friend's leg bone. Grabbing Omar's hand, she reached down to touch the water bottle along with the rest of the group. Just seconds after Amanda's hesitant finger made contact, Lara felt herself pulled into the air, swirling and swirling as if attached to a rogue bludger.

In her exhaustion and disorientation, Lara didn't quite stick the landing. She thumped onto the ground on her side, moaning in pain as she rolled onto her back. She heard similar sounds from her friends and brother as she sat up, staring out into the hills before her. A long, cobbled pathway led to a quiet street with six houses, all red-bricked and medium-sized. One of them—the second on the left—was Stan's house, where they'd grabbed a Portkey three days before. Stan had the coolest parents of anyone in the group, which meant sleepovers were usually held at the Thrustons' rather than anywhere else.

"My mum's going to go _crazy_ ," Stan grumbled as they headed down the pathway. "I hope she hasn't heard what happened yet…"

Stan's mother, however, must have already read the paper or heard about it through gossip. The small, dark-haired woman was sitting on the couch with a steaming mug of tea, staring at the fire with vacant eyes. The moment Stan pushed the front door open, she turned and let out a cry of relief.

"Stan!" she called out, sounding close to tears. "Oh, Stanley… I was so worried. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, mum," Stan mumbled as his mother kissed his cheeks fiercely. "Mum, please."

"Oh, hush. I was _worried_." She pulled away and glanced behind him. "Oh, you're all here. I'm so glad, so glad…"

She proceeded to make her way around the group, kissing cheeks and hugging tightly. Lara pandered to her worrying gracefully; she'd always liked Mrs Thruston. She was a typical mum with her various aprons, warm hugs, and Sunday dinners, but she also took no crap from anyone. She and her husband owned an apothecary in Diagon Alley and had brought up three boys alongside it. She had not only allowed but encouraged their children to indulge in whatever hobbies they chose, be they wizarding or Muggle. Her eldest son, Cassius, now lived in France as an artist and photographer, her second son, Orsino, was the famed drummer of the _Weird Sisters_ , and Stan wanted to be a potioneer.

Eventually, Mrs Thruston led the group to the fireplace. One by one they left, waving goodbye and yawning widely—minus Erin, who planned to stay behind and catch a train the next day. Lara was the last one to go, stepping into the fire after Walter had disappeared and promising Mrs Thruston she would look after herself (and Walter) before Flooing home.

She landed in her living room and almost slammed into the oak coffee table. Coughing and spluttering, Lara only just had time to gather her bearings before her mam pulled her into a hug.

"I can't believe it," Pamela murmured into Lara's hair. "I just can't _believe_ it. How could this happen at a _Quidditch_ match?"

"It wasn't just a match, ma. It was the World Cup," Lara replied, her voice muffled by her mam's shoulder. "It was _the_ event of the year."

"The decade," Walter corrected easily. "There were _thousands_ of people. There's no better place to make a statement."

"I just don't see how those hooligans managed to get in. The whole Ministry was there to protect the public." Pamela gave a huff and let go of her daughter. "Honestly, they put millions into it. And yet people _still_ managed to do… do _that_. It makes me wonder where the money actually goes."

Walter and Lara exchanged a silent look. Then, after a moment's pause, Walter said, "Mam… you do realise those _hooligans_ were Death Eaters, right?"

"They weren't _real_ Death Eaters." Pamela waved her hand blithely. "They were just people in costumes. The Bulgarians, no doubt. People take Quidditch far too seriously these days."

Walter looked at Lara again, who shrugged. Their mam had always been rather… indifferent towards big subjects such as politics and international affairs. Pamela preferred the simple life of gossiping with neighbours and going out for brunch with friends. It annoyed the hell out of Walter—who was adamant another war was on the horizon—but to Lara, it was just her mam's way of coping. And, anyway, Pamela wasn't the only one to think this; even Erin was still convinced the Bulgarians had just gotten carried away.

"Where's dad?" Lara asked instead, changing the subject completely.

"He got called into work to clean up this mess," Pamela said as she headed towards the kitchen. "He has to do some serious damage control for the Ministry."

Homer Culpepper was a writer and editor for _The Daily Prophet_ in the politics feature. While Pamela preferred to be blissfully ignorant, Homer wanted to know the ins and outs of a fart, as Walter liked to say. Their differing personalities had always confused Lara, who wondered what her parents talked about when they were alone, but it worked. They'd been married for over twenty-two years. As Pamela had once said, opposites attract—which Walter later interpreted in his own words to tell Lara, "They like hearing themselves speak. So they talk for hours about their own things, pretending to listen to each other, and at the end of the day they feel like they've accomplished something."

Her brother and parents had a complicated relationship.

After a cup of tea and some toast, Lara headed up to her bedroom, collapsing into her warm bed and slipping under the covers. She was asleep within minutes, desperately trying not to think about silver masks and small, contorting figures being hoisted into the air.

It rained for days after the Quidditch Cup. Lara found herself spending a lot of time staring out of her bedroom window, admiring the grassy plains of the Durham countryside and feeling quite sorry for the grazing sheep.

For a while she thought it was just the typical northeastern weather, as her neck of the woods always had bad conditions compared to her southern friends. However, four days into the mini-hurricane, she received a letter from Amanda that simply said: " _Why is the weather so SHIT?_ " Amanda lived in Cambridge with her pure-blood parents and little brother. When it was raining _there_ , it had to be bad everywhere.

Lara floated around her house, mostly reading, sometimes annoying Walter when he was home. She was so bored by Friday that she went in to work with Walter, who was babysitting some young Nifflers for the day. She spent eight hours running after the tiny blights, who desperately wanted to escape their pen to steal shiny things from Ministry workers. Lara distracted them with tinfoil—an ingenious plan if there ever was one, according to a co-worker of Walter's—but they still tried to get away every now and then.

By the time she got home, she was tired, her hair was a mess, and she smelt like baby Nifflers. Collapsing onto the couch, she let her head fall back onto the cushions and closed her eyes. She was there for barely three seconds before something pecked her arm.

It was her brown owl, Fudge, with a small letter in his beak. As she opened and read it, he perched upon her shoulder and nuzzled into her hair.

 _LARA_

 _GET YOUR ARSE TO MY HOUSE! THE SUN'S COME OUT AND WE'RE CELEBRATING!_

 _GET A MOVE ON_

 _Stan_

Sighing, Lara placed the letter onto the coffee table and moved to pet Fudge. All she wanted to do was curl up in bed with a book and fall asleep early, but she'd been dying to see her friends for days now. They'd planned to spend a whole week at the campsite, turning up a few days ahead of the match and leaving late, just to have a mini-holiday before they went back to school.

"It's our _last_ year," Erin had pleaded with her parents. (Earlier that day, her mum had seen a moving picture in Erin's bedroom and almost fainted. Erin knew her parents were trying, but it was hard sometimes and she just wanted to get away with people that _got_ it.) "When will we ever get the chance again?"

Eventually, they'd all agreed and gotten permission—even Amanda, who had balked at the idea of spending seven days in a tent. But obviously, the whole thing had been a bit of a disaster, starting with Walter being kidnapped and ending with a Death Eater attack.

Lara wanted to end her final summer holiday on a _good_ note, laughing and joking with her best mates. They would be going back to school in two days, so there wouldn't be another opportunity for them to meet. With a groan of begrudging acceptance, Lara placed Fudge onto his perch and went upstairs to shower and get ready.

Forty minutes later, her hair long and straight (and still slightly wet), a dash of make-up on her freckled face, and clad in a floral wrap dress, Lara Flooed to the Thrustons' place. The moment she stepped into the living room, Mrs Thruston ushered her into the back garden, where Lara found teenagers milling around, chatting animatedly and enjoying drinks. Lara smiled at some people she recognised and headed further into the garden, looking for her friends.

" _There_ you are!" The familiar voice of Erin screamed over the loud music, which came from a wireless radio set up near the back door. "We've been here for _hours_ —where the hell have you been?"

Lara's friends were sitting on garden chairs in the corner of the yard. The chairs were set up in a large circle around a green wooden table, which was now covered with bottles and cups. Erin and Amanda were sharing one chair, their thighs pushed together as Erin perched dangerously on the edge of the seat. On their right side were Stan and Omar, both involved in a serious conversation with a group of boys about the state of wizarding Britain's joke merchandise.

"I went to work with Walter," answered Lara as she walked over to them. "Looked after some baby Nifflers. Then I had to shower and change."

"Erin thought you were ignoring us," Amanda teased, grinning. " _I_ thought you were sick of seeing Stan and Omar's ugly faces."

"Aw, I'd never get sick of them."

"See, Mandy?" Stan stopped his conversation to stick his tongue out at the Ravenclaw. "Lara's not as mean as you are."

Amanda simply rolled her eyes.

Taking an empty seat from the circle, Lara dragged it closer to her friends and sat down, her eyes briefly scanning the crowd. She could see pretty much every seventh year she could think of, which wasn't unusual, but she could also see some sixth years. Sitting on the opposite side of the circle were Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Lee Jordan. As she watched the three of them converse, two other figures joined, passing out bottles to their friends. Fred and George Weasley were here, too. One of them sat on the ground beside Lee and the other made a show of sitting on Alicia's knee until she relented and switched positions with him.

"What are the sixth years doing here?" Lara blurted out before she could stop herself.

Erin and Amanda, who were talking about the upcoming N.E.W.T.s, turned to their friend inquisitively. "Stan invited them," Amanda replied after a moment's pause. "He's invited everyone that went to the World Cup, I think."

"He said he wants to end the summer on a good note after what happened. Even Oliver was here earlier," Erin continued. "Why? Do you mind them being here?"

"Of course not," Lara said, tearing her eyes away from the group of sixth years. "I just wondered, that's all. I've never known them to come to something like this."

Amanda hummed softly. "I think everyone feels the same way as Stan. They want a good memory before school starts, you know?"

Lara nodded understandingly; that was the whole reason she'd come. She wanted to forget what had happened at the World Cup entirely, if she could.

She looked back to the sixth years and her eyes caught sight of someone else. Standing behind them with a bottle of beer was David Brentford with his own friends, a smirk on his adorable face as he recited a story. He was a seventh-year Hufflepuff and had the most amazing blue eyes Lara had ever seen. As if feeling someone watching him, David glanced over and he grinned at Lara in hello.

Suddenly feeling flushed, Lara smiled back and turned back to her friends… who were watching her amusedly.

"What?" Lara demanded self-consciously.

"You _still_ fancy David Brentford?" Amanda sighed, shaking her head in mock disappointment. "I thought you'd be over that by now."

"She hasn't snogged him yet, so she can't get it out of her mind," said Erin, her tone one of wise intelligence (in her mind, at least). "Why don't you go over and snog him now? Everyone snogs at parties."

"I can't just go over and _assault_ him," Lara snapped. "Plus, he's really hot, and it's intimidating."

"No, you just think he is."

"Everyone has a type," Erin reprimanded Amanda, who looked nonplussed by Lara's choice in men. "And not everyone's type is Charlie bloody Weasley."

A satisfied grin crept onto Amanda's face. "Now _that's_ a man worth fancying."

"Charlie's like a cousin to me or something." Lara shuddered slightly at the thought of liking the ginger-haired dragon tamer. "He's come 'round my house since I was seven."

"Lucky bitch," Amanda muttered, nearly inaudible as Erin spoke over her.

"But _David_ is a delicious stud muffin who Lara would like to eat," she chirped, turning to Amanda as Lara snorted. "I think we could get them together."

"How?"

"There's _so_ many possibilities—get them drunk tonight, force them in a broom cupboard back at Hogwarts, throw Lara into the lake and get David to recuse her…"

"While you two talk about my attempted murder," Lara said, standing as Amanda looked more excited than she should about the possibility of Lara drowning, "I'll get more drinks."

The two girls pretty much ignored her. Lara headed over to the table, where Stan had put rows of cups with Refilling Charms on them. Picking them up one by one, Lara sniffed the contents, intent on finding a butterbeer.

"Are you _sniffing_ the drinks?"

Lara gasped and jerked, almost spilling what smelt like firewhiskey down her dress. She turned to see one of the Weasley twins standing just behind her, his eyebrows raised in unbidden amusement.

"Er… yes?" Lara replied unsurely. "I want a butterbeer—I don't really like spirits."

"But how do you get drunk?"

"Very expensively."

The boy grinned widely. Placing the cup back onto the table, Lara stared at him, trying to figure out which one of twins he was. Were there _any_ physical differences between them? A wayward freckle? A mole? A slight variation in build? Even if there _were_ , she still wouldn't be able to figure out who this was. She didn't know either of the twins well enough to compare one to the other.

He smirked at her, as if knowing exactly what was going through her mind. After over sixteen years of being an identical twin, Lara was sure he was used to it.

"Well, I'd like a firewhiskey, if you don't mind." He motioned towards the table.

Lara moved off to the side. Grabbing a cup, the twin took a long swig and nodded appreciatively. She expected him to go right back to his friends and brother, but instead he stayed, looking back at Lara with a smile.

"I'm Fred," he said, brown eyes sparkling with mirth. "If you were wondering."

Lara saw through that. What he meant was: _I could tell you were studying me to see which twin I was. Here's the answer, you weirdo_.

"I was," she decided to say, because her mother had always told her never to lie. "Is there any differences between you two?"

"Dunno. Mum says we even have the same freckles."

Her eyes swept over his skin, but she realised it was useless. She couldn't recall George's freckles well enough to compare them to Fred's.

"I'll take your word for it," she smirked.

Fred put his hand to his heart. "No one ever takes my word for anything."

"Hardly surprising, Weasley, given your track record."

"Whatever do you mean?"

Lara gave him a flat look. "I vividly remember you offering me a sweet in my fourth year."

"How kind of me—"

"And I spent the rest of the day with a terrible bout of hiccoughs."

Fred could barely contain a snort.

"An orange sweet, I think you said, in all your third-year innocence," Lara continued wistfully. "And I _loved_ orange sweets, Weasley. Instead, I ended up with a bruised diaphragm and a detention from Snape for 'disrupting the lesson.'"

This time, laughter bubbled from Fred's lips. "Ah, my bad, Culpepper. Can I offer you a Ton-Tongue Toffee as an apology?"

"I'm never taking a sweet from you again," Lara replied, and then eyed the redheaded boy suspiciously. "What's a Ton-Tongue Toffee?"

"They make a person's tongue swell to at least four feet long." Fred dug into his pocket and held out a bunch of rainbow-coloured sweets. "Wanna try?"

"Absolutely not."

"Are you sure? George says the experience can be quite enlightening."

"George?"

"He tried these and I tried the Canary Creams."

"Canary Creams?"

"For a later date." Fred winked and pocketed the rainbow sweets once again.

"So… you and George are _making_ your own joke stuff now?"

"Of course we are," he said simply.

"That's…" Lara thought for a moment, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's bloody brilliant, Weasley."

A bright smile crossed Fred's face and then he bowed deeply, holding out his hands and everything. A few people glanced over at them as Lara tried to make him straighten.

"Weasley— _Weasley_! Stand up—What are you _doing_ —"

"That was me thanking you," he laughed happily as he came to a stand again, towering over Lara's 5'3" frame. "I don't think we've been described as brilliant yet. Crazy, reckless, and stupid, yes. But brilliant is a new one."

"Well, you're those other three things, too," Lara smirked, letting go of his wrists. "But mostly brilliant."

"I'll make sure to give you a Canary Cream, just for that."

"I'm not sure I want one."

Fred sniggered and grabbed his cup from the table. He looked like he was about to say something else, but Erin ran up beside Lara, grabbing her arm. "We're talking to Dave and his friends," Erin breamed. "Sorry, Weasley. I'm gonna have to steal her."

"Have fun." Fred raised his cup their way as Lara was dragged backwards.

"You know Lara, of course," Erin said brightly, her arm around Lara's shoulders. "Lara, you know Dave, Elliot, and Simon."

Lara licked her lips nervously as the three boys smiled at her. Folding her arms over her chest, Lara threw Erin a glare as the group began to talk about going back to school. Erin and Amanda might've thought it was a _great_ idea to get Dave and Lara near each other, but what they didn't know was that Lara was an utter _mess_ around him. She could barely look him in the eye without blushing, and talking to him she became a stuttering, awkward disaster.

"Have more alcohol," Amanda whispered twenty minutes later, during which Lara had only spoken five words. "It'll loosen you up."

So Lara did. She had two more butterbeers, followed by two firewhiskeys, a rum and Coke, and a shot of something called "vodka." Unfortunately for Erin and Amanda's plan, Lara quickly reached the stage where she wanted to dance and so went in search of Stan, her designated boogying partner. She found him sitting with the Gryffindor sixth years, throwing his arms around as he talked about Quidditch with them.

"Stan!" Lara beamed, coming up beside her friend. "Dance with me."

"How much have you drank?"

"Enough to want to dance," Lara replied easily, "but not enough to want to sleep. Dance with me!"

Stan threw an apologetic look towards his companions as Lara dragged him to the middle of the garden, where people had been congregating throughout the night. Omar was already there, dancing with a pretty brunette, and he waved brightly at Stan and Lara. As he always did, Stan spun Lara around twice before they began to move to the beat. That was why he was her favourite dance partner out of all her friends; they started off with a good laugh together.

Lara wasn't sure how long they danced for, but eventually Erin and Amanda joined, along with the rest of the party-goers. When Stan got dragged away by a cute blonde, Lara went to her girlfriends, placing an arm around Amanda's waist and squeezing.

" _So take your hands off me, tonight I'm breaking free! This is the night, this is the night_!" Amanda crooned along to the music joyfully, wrapping her arms around Lara's back as they moved.

After a moment, Lara felt someone poke her in the hip and she turned, coming face-to-face with one of the twins. (She was pretty sure it must be Fred, but there was honestly no way of being certain.)

"Where's your dance partner?" Fred asked, having to lean in close to be heard.

"He got pulled away by a girl," giggled Lara, glancing about the throng of people; she couldn't see Stan anywhere. "At least one of us deserves to be snogged tonight, so…"

"Shouldn't you be snogging David Brentford?"

Lara's eyes widened and she shook her head. "What are you—"

"It was so obvious," Fred grinned, amused. "I could see you blushing from where _I_ was stood."

Lara felt her whole body heat up at the thought. Merlin, had _David_ noticed her incessant crush on him? He probably thought she was some silly school girl!

The music suddenly turned slow and melodic, and groups of friends broke off into pairs. Erin and Amanda grasped each other and began to sway, their expressions ones of drunken joy. Lara glanced around confusedly, her mind still on David and her stupidity, when Fred offered his hand to her. Without really giving it much thought, Lara took it, allowing herself to be brought against Fred's chest.

"I don't think Dave noticed," Fred smirked, his face inches from hers, one hand on her waist and the other grasping her fingers. "He's good-looking, but he's dumb as rocks, bless him."

"He is not," Lara shot back, throwing Fred a quick glare. "He's really sweet, actually. He comforted me when my grandma died in our fourth year."

"Sweet as chocolate, I'm sure. But ask him to change a badger into a goblet…"

"Badgers are a tricky animal."

"Wow, you've got it bad."

Lara's blush deepened. She felt stupid because she _really_ liked Dave, despite the fact that they'd had only a handful of conversations in her whole life. Most of them were trivial, about the weather, school, or Quidditch, but back in fourth year, she'd received a letter from her mum to say that her grandmother had died after a short battle with Dragon-pox and David had been the only person she knew in the Great Hall at that moment. As she broke down into sobs, he'd rushed over to comfort her. She'd liked him ever since.

"Is his arse as good as Krum's?"

The question shocked Lara out of her daze. Looking up to Fred's smiling face, she scoffed. "No one can out-arse Krum."

"You look disgusted by the suggestion."

"Because Krum's arse looks like a peach."

"And what is it about Brentford that's _so_ fascinating?"

"We're not at a sleepover, Weasley," smirked Lara, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly. "We're not about to swap stories of our crushes."

"Why not? I'll openly admit I think Vicky Frobisher has nice eyes."

"That's rather sweet—"

"And she has the _hottest_ legs I've ever seen. Honestly, I didn't think legs could be attractive until she came along. A blessing in Potions, they are."

"You're a Neanderthal."

"I think I liked you better when you didn't know if I was Fred or George."

"Aw, Freddy," Lara cooed, then paused dramatically. "You _are_ Fred, right?"

"Shut up," he snorted, then glanced over her shoulder at something, a smirk coming to his face. "Okay, so, if I do something, do you promise not to hit me?"

"Hit you?"

Fred didn't respond, only slipped his hand around to Lara's back and gently pulled her towards him. Lara knew what was going to happen before it did, but only managed a slight gasp of surprise before Fred Weasley kissed her.

Well, _this_ wasn't how she expected the night to go.

He lingered for a few seconds, then pulled back with a grin and glanced over her shoulder again. An amused smile still on his face, he leaned down to Lara's ear and whispered, "Brentford is looking this way and he doesn't look happy."

Lara was still shocked and confused about Fred's kiss, but she peered behind her anyway. Sure enough, David was standing with his two friends, leaning against the fence and watching Fred and Lara with a slight scowl on his face. Lara's heart leapt into her throat; was he _jealous_?

"Maybe your crush isn't totally unfounded," Fred murmured brightly.

Lara's eyes slid to the redheaded boy still holding her. "You kissed me."

"I did."

"Why?"

"Made him jealous, didn't it?" He shrugged. "Boys are simple creatures, Culpepper. We want what we can't have."

"So if I snogged you now, he'd get even more jealous and realise he fancies me?"

"Well… I feel like that's an oversimplification of the point, but I suppose—mmphf!"

Fred never got to finish his sentence. Reaching for the back of his head, Lara brought his lips down again to meet hers. Looking back on this day in the years to come, not to mention _tomorrow_ when she sobered up, Lara would realise that this was a bad idea. However, in her alcohol- and hormone-infused state, she didn't, at this time, care.

After he got over the shock—which didn't take long; Fred Weasley was always expecting the unexpected—he turned out to be a pretty decent snog. In fact, he was _more_ than decent. Lara was pleasantly surprised as he tangled his fingers into her hair and squeezed her waist with his arm, bringing them even closer together. His lips were gentle and attentive. And when he gently nibbled on her lower lip, her toes curled in her sandals.

Lara pulled back, gulping thickly as she fought to catch her breath. "Now he'll be _really_ jealous," she panted.

Fred grinned back, his lips swollen but his expression one of simple amusement. Then, with a quick arch of his arm, he was spinning her around, blond hair flying everywhere, her skirt fluttering around her thighs, and for the first time, Lara realised that, yes, Fred Weasley really did have a nice smile.

* * *

 **Apologies for the late chapter, I went on a surprise holiday and then there was a virus going around on the site so I decided to lay low for a bit. Anyway! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! It's one of my favourites :)**


	4. Yes, I snogged Fred Weasley

**Chapter 4.**

 ** _Yes, I snogged Fred Weasley_**

On the morning of September 1st, Lara was awoken by her brother. Her _twenty-two-year-old_ brother who, squealing like a baby pig that was about to be fed, came running into her room and catapulted himself onto her bed. Lara's heart dropped as she flew sideways, just managing to save herself from plummeting to the floor by grabbing the bedside table.

"You bloody _idiot_ ," Lara said breathlessly once she was stable again. "I almost cracked my head open."

"I could've healed it."

"Not the point."

"Come _on,_ get up! You're going back to school today!"

He got off her bed and began rummaging around her room for her already-packed trunk, Fudge's cage, and her backpack. He carried them into the hallway while Lara watched blankly from her bed, only half awake and still shocked from the abrupt wake-up call. "Get _up_!" He clapped his hands together impatiently as he appeared in the doorway. "Chop, chop. Move your arse. Get ready. Make yourself presentable."

"Why are you so eager?" Lara grumbled, throwing back her covers. "You're never this excited about school."

Walter beamed widely and watched as Lara went over to her desk, where she'd set up an outfit to wear for the day. "I just have a feeling you'll have a great year," he said eventually.

Lara gave him a confused look. Ignoring her, Walter closed her bedroom door as he said, "See you downstairs."

Once clean and dressed, Lara ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, where her mam was pottering around and Walter was sitting at the dining table reading _The Quibbler_. Lara was suddenly glad that their dad was already at work; he and Walter got into the worst arguments about Walter's choice of reading material.

"What do you mean I'll _have a great year_?" she questioned immediately as she sat opposite him. "Do you know something? What's happening?"

Walter placed his magazine onto the table to give her a smug look. "I can't tell you."

"You can't do that!"

"Yes I can. I just have."

"Are you bringing some sort of animal in? A unicorn? A _dragon_?"

"Sort of."

Lara gasped excitedly as Pamela placed a dish of scrambled eggs and toast in front of her. "No fucking _way_ —"

"Language!"

"A _dragon_? A _real_ dragon? Do we get to ride it? Oh _Merlin,_ do we get to see _baby_ dragons—"

"I've already said too much!" Walter held up his hands defensively. "Me and Charlie promised the boss we wouldn't spill the beans… I will tell you this, though: Start saving up so you can buy a pretty dress."

"A pretty dress and a dragon?" Lara said dubiously. "How do they correlate?"

"You'll see."

Lara spent the rest of breakfast telling her brother what a condescending twat he was. They were arguing back and forth so determinedly, Pamela barely got a goodbye in before she went to meet a friend for lunch. The two of them continued their bickering while they Flooed to the Ministry. They walked into Muggle London and took the subway to King's Cross Station, all the while screaming to be heard over the pouring rain.

"Just give me a hint—a _hint_ , Walter—"

"I've told you a _million_ times, I _can't_ —"

"But you can't do that to me—"

"I regret even mentioning it, you annoying shit—"

" _You're_ the one being annoying—"

"We're at the platform." Walter sounded immensely relieved by this fact. "Please, _please_ run through it."

Lara smirked playfully and lined up with the wall, running through it and immediately becoming overwhelmed by the smell of coal. The platform was abuzz with chatter and laughter, mostly from excited children desperate to get back to Hogwarts. A few parents were crying. Older students were causing drama about getting their things onto the train. In the distance, something sparked and banged—a loose bit of magic from an untrained wand.

Lara couldn't keep the smile from her face. She was _home_.

"Come on, let's get away from the wall," Walter said, having appeared with Lara's things on a trolley.

She followed him through the crowd, stepping over baggage and jumping out of the way of playing children. As Walter walked towards the far end of the platform, Lara saw a flash of red in the corner of her eye. Her stomach flipped; she'd been avoiding thinking about a particular Weasley for days now, as she cringed whenever she remembered their last encounter.

 _What_ had possessed her to snog Fred Weasley, she didn't know. Not only snog him, but do so in front of _everyone_. For the rest of the night people had sent her smirks and smiles, and at one point Lee Jordan had winked at her. At the time she'd been too drunk and happy to care. Now, sober and in the light of day, she felt embarrassed. Not because of the snog—it had, after all, been rather good—but because the whole school knew about it.

 _David_ knew about it.

Fred's reasoning had seemed sane at the time. In fact, it still seemed sane now. Jealousy; it was such a simple concept, and if Fred, a _boy_ , thought flirting with him would make David finally see her as something other than a friend, then she was willing to try it. Flirting, a bit of kissing—fine. But then Lara had pushed it further, had snogged the living daylights out of him. Fred hadn't seemed to mind… but what did David think? Had she totally put him off by snogging Fred? Did he think she fancied Fred—a reasonable but wrong assumption—and now Lara had no chance whatsoever?

A head of red hair turned her way. The Weasley twins were grabbing their things to go onto the train, and one of them had spotted her. With a grin, the twin reached over and nudged his counterpart, who turned questioningly as the former pointed Lara's way. The second twin got a bright smile on his face and gave Lara a quick wave.

Lara couldn't help but grin back. For some reason, the person that made her feel the least awkward about the situation was Fred, her snoggee. Afterwards, he'd made random jokes and spun her around until she felt dizzy, and then they'd gotten a drink together at the table. He kept teasing her about David and she teased him about Vicky Frobisher's legs; it was all very simple. It was almost like she'd snogged someone else, someone that just looked like him (which was, of course, possible, but she was _pretty_ sure she hadn't actually been kissing George), and Fred was a purely platonic, never-snogged-before mate.

"Right, have fun," Walter chirped, bringing Lara's attention back to him. "Don't get into too much trouble… No, wait. That might not apply to this year…"

" _Walter_!"

"Sorry, sorry." He smirked widely. "I'll shut up. Just have fun and be careful, okay?"

"Fine," she huffed, rolling her eyes as he brought her into a bear hug. "Imagine if this was the other way around. You would've farted in my face by now."

"Which is why _I'm_ the better one."

"The stupider one, more like— _eep_!" Lara cried as he lifted her off her feet, squeezing her middle tightly. "You're squeezing my bladder!"

He placed her back onto the floor and grinned at her ruffled appearance. "I'm gonna miss you, is all."

"I'll see you at Christmas."

"Hmm." Walter's lips thinned. "No, you won't."

"I'm going to kill you."

"I know. Get on the train."

She picked up her things, kissed his cheek, and rushed onto the train. Gliding down the hallway, she peered into compartments until she saw a bunch of familiar faces.

"Walter," Lara said loudly, announcing her arrival as she yanked open the door, "has been _very_ annoying this morning. He's been so secretive and mysterious, which isn't like him _at all_. Has anyone else's family been acting _weird_?"

Lara got no reply as she hoisted her trunk onto the luggage rack. After a moment, she collapsed onto a seat and glanced around at her friends, who were all smirking and wiggling their eyebrows. "…What?" asked Lara suspiciously.

Erin and Amanda looked at each other for a moment before Erin motioned for Amanda to speak.

"You snogged Fred Weasley," Amanda said with a wide grin. "You _snogged_ Fred Weasley."

Lara groaned and slid down in her seat. "I wondered when this was going to come up…" At the party, everyone else had been too occupied with their own misadventures to confront her about hers before she'd slipped home to sleep. She had almost hoped that they would have forgotten all about it by this time, but she knew her friends better than to truly believe that might happen.

"Going to come up?" squeaked Erin, and Omar sniggered into his hand. "How could it _not_?"

"Because I have the best friends in the world and they don't want to embarrass me even more?"

This was, of course, ignored.

"Out of everyone, I thought Mandy would be the one to snog a Weasley," Stan said perceptively, glancing at Erin for confirmation; she nodded understandingly. "I mean, she's been wanting to shag Charlie for years."

"And Fred and George look the most like him," Erin said.

"How do you know it was Fred, anyway?" Lara asked defensively. "It could've been George—"

"George and I were talking about it afterwards," Omar grinned from his seat next to the window, his feet kicked up on the one opposite. "Saying how random it was. Lee, Angelina, and Alicia called him George, so it was definitely him."

"What does that prove? They've pulled switches on them before."

"So." Amanda leaned forward with a pleased expression. "You're not defending yourself about snogging him, you're just pointing out that it could've been _either_ twin."

"Or both, if they swapped places," added Stan.

Lara opened her mouth to refute… but, well, wasn't that exactly what she was doing? She'd pointed out that it could have been George to divert the attention away from the actual snog, and somehow she'd made the situation worse.

"Why is everything I do a bloody _struggle_?" huffed Lara, collapsing back into her seat.

Her friends laughed at her expense. Erin leaned forward and patted Lara's leg. "It's okay, mate. It looked like a decent snog."

"You could've just said you'd set your sights on him, though. Then Erin and I wouldn't have had to talk to David and his friends all night and have the most _boring_ conversation of my entire _life_ —"

"I haven't." Lara interrupted Amanda's rant, awkwardly playing with the end of her t-shirt. "Set my sights on Fred, that is. It was just a snog."

She didn't want to tell them _why_ they'd snogged. The whole group would tease her mercilessly; first of all for even listening to anything Fred Weasley had to say, and second of all for thinking it was a good idea. Erin and Amanda didn't understand her crush on who they'd dubbed 'Dreary Dave,' and the boys had been telling her for years to just go for it.

"You're cute and shit; just go up and ask him to Hogsmeade," Stan had once declared whilst shovelling mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"What he's trying to say," Omar had then said, shaking his head and throwing Stan a disgruntled look, "is that you're pretty, funny, and any guy would be lucky to have you. You should go for it."

The sentiments were sweet but did little to calm Lara's nerves. Every time she gathered the courage to 'go for it,' she'd end up standing in front of David, the words 'will you go out with me' on the tip of her tongue, but instead she'd ask about homework or Quidditch. She knew it was utterly ridiculous, especially considering she was a _Gryffindor_ (weren't they meant to be brave and courageous and daring?), but she couldn't help it. He had this _effect_ on her, this weird force that made her all nervous and jittery.

Honestly, she was such a mess.

"So you still like David?" Amanda asked, unable to hide her disappointment.

"Well… yeah." Lara flushed slightly, crossing her arms over her ribs. "Anyway, isn't Fred a bit… young? And… prankster-y?"

"Prankster-y?" Omar smirked at the same as time Erin spoke.

"No, of course he isn't." She let out a sigh and pouted. "Aw man, I really thought you liked each other. I was so excited."

"I think he likes her," Amanda said. "I mean, he must do, right? To snog her?"

"He doesn't _like_ me—"

"And the way he was looking at her all night." Erin smiled. "Like a lovesick puppy."

"He did _not_ —"

"He kept staring at her boobs, too," commented Omar, ripping open a Chocolate Frog.

"Your boobs did look great that night," Stan agreed, nodding.

"Okay, can we stop talking about this?" Lara cried, fretfully tugging on the end of her plait. "It's making me feel anxious."

"Yeah, anxious to shag Fred Weasley—"

Lara threw one of Omar's Chocolate Frogs at Amanda's head, effectively preventing the end of that sentence from seeing the light of day. Her friends sniggered before changing the subject to school and the Sorting Ceremony. Lara turned to her side, resting her back against the compartment's wall and stretching out her legs. She tried to listen to her friends talk, but all she could think about was ginger hair and seventh-year Hufflepuffs.

She knew she was being annoying with her fanatical boy troubles. It was usually Erin or Amanda with these sorts of problems, not Lara, which was probably why her friends were obsessing over it. Lara didn't really _do_ the whole dating thing; she'd only ever really liked Dave, and he'd never seen her as more than a friend. And now, after spending the last three years in her own bubble of school and unrequited love, she'd suddenly gone to a party, gotten shit-faced, and snogged Fred Weasley. She felt like she'd gone from 0 to 100 overnight on the drama scale.

No wonder her friends were looking at her funny.

The train suddenly chugged forward, jolting Lara from her daze as it sped around the corner towards Scotland. Lara's indiscretions weren't mentioned for the rest of the train ride. In fact, Lara had nearly forgotten all about it, too busy talking to Erin about Walter's strange behaviour, until the girls left the compartment to change into their robes. As Lara entered the small bathroom, she spotted Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet by the sinks, applying make-up and patting down their hair.

Blushing the colour of a tomato, Lara all but ran into a bathroom stall. She desperately hoped that the sixth-year Gryffindors would be gone by the time she finished, but alas, even after changing as slowly as possible, she could still hear them outside talking to Erin and Amanda. When Lara awkwardly left the stall, walked over to them, and began to straighten up her uniform in the mirror, all four girls turned to her with teasing grins.

"Don't even start," Lara said quietly, not sparing them a glance. "Yes, I snogged Fred Weasley. Can we move on?"

"Absolutely not," replied Alicia simply, leaning against the sink with a cocked hip. "You can't do something like that in front of the whole school and not expect people to be talking about it."

"I was _drunk_ ," Lara said (though deep down she knew it wasn't a good excuse). "And it wasn't the _whole_ school."

"Sixth year and up."

"That's, like, what? Twenty percent of the school—"

"Was it _good_?" Angelina asked excitedly, cutting off Lara's nervous rambling. "I've always wondered."

"It was—well, it was…" Lara could feel her face heating up, her heart clambering in her chest. She couldn't _lie_ (damn her mother!). "It was pretty decent, yeah. He was very…"

"Very _what_?"

What word was she looking for? What word described the way he buried his fingers in the roots of her hair? The way his hands skimmed across her waist and hip? The way his lips moved against hers, searching with a purpose, but not overwhelming?

"Focused," Lara blurted out, then cringed into her shoulder. "Merlin…"

Erin and Alicia giggled together and Amanda looked positively over the moon at Lara's embarrassment. Angelina, taking pity on the blonde seventh year, patted her on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it. People will forget soon. It's only the upper years that are really gossiping."

"That doesn't make me feel much better," sighed Lara, anxiously running a hand over her face.

"Well, _you_ were the one that snogged _him_ —"

"It's not because of Fred," Lara gulped as Alicia turned defensive, having mistaken Lara's embarrassment as being about _who_ she'd snogged rather than the _situation_. "He's—he's great, honestly. It's just—I've never been the one _being_ gossiped about, you know? And people probably think I'm a proper… proper…"

"No one thinks you're, y'know… _promiscuous_." Alicia smirked, her softness returning once she realised why Lara was upset. "Honest. Most people are just surprised that it happened."

"How so?"

"Well, you're a year older than him, for a start," grinned Angelina, her eyes sparkling. "That got the boys talking. They think Fred's some sort of Romeo, and he's lapping it up, of course—"

"And there's the fact that you've never properly _talked_ ," Erin continued. "Like, you've never mentioned him to me before, and then suddenly you're snogging him at a party. Plus, you're not one to really go around snogging guys, anyway, which adds intrigue. If Mandy had snogged him I bet no one would even be bothered."

"Hey!" Amanda huffed, then shrugged when Erin gave her a flat look. "Okay, yeah. Fair enough."

"I say you just own it." Alicia nodded confidently. "Like, 'Yeah bitches, I snogged Fred. Problem?'"

Angelina agreed, throwing her friend a bright smile before turning to Lara. "Yeah, what she said. And if anyone gives you trouble, we'll hex them."

"Thanks," Lara sighed, giving the girls a kind smile. Angelina opened her mouth to say something else, but the bathroom door opened and bunch of girls wearing Hufflepuff uniforms came in, heading for the stalls.

The Gryffindors headed out to go back to their respective compartments. As they entered the busy hallway, Lara saw a bunch in Gryffindor uniforms, huddled together and talking. Looking closer, she saw it was Stan talking to Fred, George, and Lee Jordon.

 _Why_ had her friends suddenly become so chummy with the sixth years?

Lara tried to walk past, her head down, following Erin and Amanda as they chatted ahead of her. She thought she was safe, her foot just about to step into the compartment, when a hand grabbed her elbow and dragged her back.

"Didn't you say Walter has been acting funny?" Stan asked innocently, though the glint in his eyes told Lara he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Yeah," Lara replied, keeping her eyes determinedly on Stan. "Why?"

"Fred and George said their brothers were acting weird, too."

Of course, this made Lara look at the twins. She _still_ couldn't tell them apart, especially with their identical smirks.

"Maybe Charlie and Walter rubbed off on each other at the World Cup." Lara shrugged. "Made each other weirder than they already were."

"Our other brother, Bill, was saying some stuff, too," one of the twins said, then nudged his brother. "Wasn't he, _Fred_?"

Lara didn't miss the emphasis on Fred's name. As if knowing what she was thinking, Lee threw her a wink.

 _Merlin help me_.

"Said he might take some time off work to see some of it," Fred said quietly, nodding his head once.

"See some of _what_?" Lara questioned, her embarrassment momentarily forgotten. When the twins shrugged, she continued, "Walter said something about a dragon and then told me to save up for a pretty dress. I have no idea what that means."

"I don't really see how they relate," said Lee.

"That's what I said," Lara sighed unhappily. " _And_ he said I wouldn't want to come home for Christmas."

Fred suddenly perked up. "Our mum said the same thing!"

"Maybe Hogwarts is having a ball or something," Stan guessed and Lee pulled a face of displeasure. "It would make the pretty dress suggestion make sense."

"But what about the dragon?"

"Maybe Hagrid has finally got his way with the Ministry—"

"And he's breeding dragons for us to ride!" George finished Fred's sentence excitedly.

"I somehow feel like that's against the law," Lara said slowly, watching as George stopped hopping around excitedly to pout at her. "But, you know, when has that ever stopped you?"

"True, true." Lee laughed, then motioned to Lara and stage-whispered to Fred, "Hey, I like her. I approve."

Fred's lips thinned and he looked away, turning red, while George guffawed brightly. Stan turned and gave Lara a shit-eating grin, but she could barely see it through her embarrassment. Clearing her throat uncomfortably, she rushed back into her compartment, shutting the door behind her.

"Are you alright? You're very red," Omar said through a mouthful of sweets.

Lara sighed and took one of his Chocolate Frogs, aggressively biting off the head before it could even begin to think about jumping away from her. Omar raised his eyebrows, a smile tugging on his lips.

"I just have a feeling," Lara said, pausing to swallow the chocolate in her mouth, "that this is going to be a _long_ year."

 **OoOOoooOOoooOOoooOOO**

At the Welcoming Feast, all of Lara's questions were answered.

The Triwizard Tournament; _that_ was why Walter was being so weird. It didn't really explain the dragon part of things, but it did answer why Walter was acting so strangely and excitably. The 'pretty dress' comment didn't make sense either, until Erin, Stan, and Lara ran into Amanda and Omar on the way out of the hall.

"The Triwizard Tournament has a Yule Ball," Amanda happily explained across the crowd of people in the Entrance Hall, which was still wet and slippery from the neverending rain that the students had tracked in earlier.

"A Yule Ball?" Erin yelled back.

"A massive party to celebrate the three champions chosen!" Omar cried back, a wicked smile on his face. "That is, of course, if they all survive the First Task!"

And with that sombre message, he and Amanda disappeared into the throng of Ravenclaws. Lara shared a befuddled look with Erin, though it was short-lived, as the Prefects began to cattle the Gryffindors towards their tower. Once inside the common room, Lara sat in an armchair beside the fire, leaning into the warmth as her friends talked around her. Everyone seemed to be shouting over one another about how eager they were to put their names into the Goblet of Fire.

Lara flopped back into the seat, feeling tired but too distracted to sleep. A little part of her wanted to put her name in the goblet, but mostly she wanted to keep her head down and get on with her N.E.W.T.s. She felt like a rather crap Gryffindor; everyone else seemed so excited to put their names in. Maybe she should put her name in just to live up to her house's reputation… but what if she was actually _chosen_? Could she do her N.E.W.T.s _and_ the Triwizard Tournament at the same time? Was she _good_ enough to compete in the competition?

She saw three heads—one dark, one ginger, and one blond—heading up the boys' dormitory stairs, just as the sixth-year Gryffindors appeared. Alicia, Angelina, and Sierra Sloper were whispering to one another, while Lee, George, and Fred complained loudly.

"It'll be, what? Six months until we're seventeen? They can't keep us from entering!" one of the twins cried.

"Don't worry, George," said the other (Fred). "Like I said—Ageing Potion. Piece of cake."

"An _Ageing_ Potion?" Lara blurted before she could stop herself, breaking out of her daze. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am," Fred replied indignantly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because Dumbledore himself is making the Age Line," Lara scoffed. "There's no way a bloody Ageing Potion will get past it."

"How do you know?"

"Eh, _common sense_."

"But you don't know our Ageing Potions." Fred skipped over, perching himself on the arm of the chair. His long legs stretched out in front of him, and therefore nearly in Lara's face. She raised her eyebrows, amused. "For all you know, we could make the best Ageing Potion known to man—right, Forge?"

"Right, Gred," replied George, planting himself on the floor beside the fire with Lee. The girls all gathered on the loveseat, whispering and gesticulating excitedly about the tournament. "I reckon we'll be able to do it."

"You're deluded."

"I take back what I said about you." Lee shook his head disappointedly. "I don't approve."

Lara momentarily glared at him. "I'm just trying to look out for you. I don't want you getting hurt by the Age Line—"

"We'll be fine."

"You'll embarrass yourself," sang Lara, cocking her head towards Fred. He peered down at her with a grin. "I bet Dumbledore'll put a hex on it or something."

"We'll see," Fred said simply. "Maybe _you'll_ be embarrassed to be proven wrong."

"Or maybe I'll bathe in all of my glory at being proven _right_."

"Willing to bet on it?"

Lara licked her lips to hide her grin. "What kind of bet?"

"If _I_ win—which I will—" he began, motioning to himself exuberantly, "you have to… stand on the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall and declare me to be the best, greatest, funniest, hottest,"—Lara snorted—"most charming prankster extraordinaire that has ever existed."

"You're on."

Fred went to shake her outstretched hand, a bright smile on his face, but then he hesitated. "But what if _you_ win?" he asked.

"I thought you were going to win?"

"Well, yes, but… say on the extremely hypothetical chance that _maybe_ I wouldn't… What would _you_ want?"

Lara paused, then shrugged. "I don't know yet."

"But—"

"Are you _scared_?"

Fred's brown eyes glinted and he held out his hand. Smirking widely, Lara shook it then laughed.

"I think we need to go to bed before Lara bets her soul or something," Erin said brightly, pushing herself up from in between the other girls on the loveseat. "You want to go upstairs, La?"

"Sure." Lara stood and Fred immediately slipped into her seat, sending her a grin when she scowled at him. Rolling her eyes, she said, "Night, guys," before heading up the girls' stairs.

"Now you're _betting_ with him?" Erin smirked as they climbed.

"Oh, come on," Lara cried, flailing her arms dramatically. "I _had_ to. An _Ageing_ Potion? Are they _kidding_ —"

"It's fairly stupid, yes," Erin agreed. "But you two looked so _cute_ together on the armchair—"

"You're incorrigible."

"But—"

"He's a _friend_."

"That you snogged."

"Yes, well…" Lara said indignantly as they entered the dormitory. Fiona Gerald was already in her bed reading a book. She had been the only Gryffindor girl to declare the Triwizard Tournament 'a hazard' and 'stupid,' having done so loudly before heading to the dormitories earlier. "That's neither here nor there."

"I feel like it's _very_ there—"

"I like… _you know who_ ," Lara snapped to her friend as Fiona glanced up from her book. Erin giggled and sat on her bed, a grin on her face. "Oh, shut up. Not _that_ You-Know-Who."

"Yeah, yeah." Erin waved her hand dismissively. "I know who you're talking about… I just think—"

"Well, don't." Lara began to dig through her trunk, looking for pyjamas. "I _do not_ fancy Fred Weasley."

"Maybe you don't realise it yet… but you will."

Lara shook her head. Erin was very perceptive and knew a lot about dating and boys in general, but she didn't know _Lara's_ dating life. Nor did she know that Lara had only snogged Fred to make David jealous. Therefore, clearly, Lara fancied _David_ , not Fred. If she fancied Fred, she'd admit it.

' _David_ ,' Lara thought sternly. ' _David Brentford_. That's _who I fancy. And nothing is going to change that._ '

…Even if Fred Weasley did have a cute smile.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter guys! Seeing you all like the story is so great, really makes my day when I see a new review, favourite or alert!**

 **In other news, how's everyone enjoying the new Fantastic Beasts? Everyone I know either love or hate it so I'm curious about what you guys think.**

 **New chapter should be up early December and it's called _hence the ferret situation_ ;)**


	5. Hence the ferret situation

**Chapter 5.**

 ** _Hence the ferret situation_**

The first day of term started off rather uneventfully. The downpour had turned into a light drizzle, though the hallway floors still squeaked under the rubber soles of shoes. Timetables were handed out to tired students at breakfast, and the seventh-years rejoiced at all their free slots. Stan planned to have a regular midday nap; Lara wondered if she could join him in the idea.

However, the seventh-years quickly realised _why_ they had so many frees in their timetables: N.E.W.T.s were _difficult_. Last year, Lara had spent the first day of term listening to her teachers congratulate the students on their O.W.L. results and warn that N.E.W.T.s were just around the corner. The corner was now here; Lara and her fellow classmates got homework at the end of every lesson. They were told they would have at least two essays to complete over Christmas in every class, followed by January mock exams, a week of revision sessions during the Easter holidays, and, finally, their N.E.W.T.s in June.

By lunch, Lara was feeling rather dejected. She entered the Great Hall with an armful of books, scrolls, and notepads, already assigned three essays and two worksheets to complete by next week. Dropping the stuff heavily onto the Gryffindor table, she sat down with a sigh.

" _Where_ has all that come from?" asked Erin, staring at the mountain of paper with wide eyes.

"Mostly alchemy," Lara growled and flopped onto the bench. "Two essays and a worksheet from _one_ lesson. What a bunch of _shit_."

"I told you not to take it," Stan sang as he shovelled carrots into his mouth. "Muggle Studies— _that's_ the way to go. Easy as pie."

"Says the Potions genius."

"I'm not a _genius_ —"

"Please. Even Snape doesn't deny your talent," Lara scoffed and began to pile her plate with food. "Alchemy will help me work with dragons, too, 'cause I'll understand the nature of fire—"

"The nature of fire?" snorted Erin.

Stan also looked confused. "It's hot and painful—what else is there to know?"

Lara opened her mouth to inform them of the magical and cleansing properties that fire could have, when Amanda and Omar appeared. Both of them seemed to have gotten just as much homework as Lara, if not more. This was no surprise; each of them were taking eight N.E.W.T.s.

"You will _never_ guess what I just saw." Amanda grinned manically.

"If this is about someone snogging someone else or some girl being pregnant, I swear to _Merlin_ I will hex you—"

"It's not that." Omar cut off Lara's complaint quickly. "Mandy and I were on our way back from Ancient Runes—"

"And we saw Malfoy being a knob—"

"As usual," grumbled Stan.

"—to Ron Weasley. Harry Potter was with him—obviously—and Harry said something to Malfoy that _really_ pissed him off—"

"Doesn't take much," muttered Erin. "He's like a hormonal Shih Tzu."

"—and Malfoy tries to hex Potter, right? So Professor Moody comes along—"

"The weird-looking guy with the eye and the leg?" Stan asked. "The one that made a more dramatic entrance than the thing that came out of the stomach in _Alien_?"

Amanda, a pure-blood, ignored this Muggle film reference. "—and shouts about some noble bullshit—don't hex a man with his back turned, whatever—and he—wait for it… he _turns Malfoy into a ferret_."

There was a stunned silence. Lara sat with her arm hovering mid-air, holding a forkful of chicken.

"He did _not_ ," Erin eventually gasped.

"He did." Omar smirked excitedly. "Started bouncing him up and down against the floor. In front of _everyone_."

"Malfoy the bouncing ferret," whispered Lara in wonderment. "Maybe there is justice in the world."

"THERE IS A GOD!" Erin screamed dramatically. "I can't believe it…"

Stan absentmindedly patted her back as she began to fake sob into her hands. "He can _do_ that?" he whispered, half-horrified and half-awed. "Won't he get fired?"

"Would _you_ fire Moody?" Omar asked, taking a seat and placing his stuff onto the floor. "I heard he's put more than fifty people in Azkaban."

"I heard more than seventy," whispered Amanda. "I spoke to Angelina earlier in the corridor and she said he's _crazy_. Brilliant, but crazy."

Lara snorted into her pumpkin juice. "Hence the ferret situation."

"A _ferret_." Stan shook his head with a reverent expression. Taking his hand away from Erin, he grinned at his friends and said, "I can't _wait_ for our D.A.D.A. lesson."

 **OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

By Friday, Lara was not ashamed to admit that she was almost ready to tear her hair out. Her homework load had doubled over the week, and the two essays she'd finished and handed in for grading had barely scraped 'A's. McGonagall said Lara needed to 'refresh herself on the basic spells' and Flitwick, though impressed by her pink ink, advised her to 'loosen up and get more creative.'

This led to Lara sitting in the common room on Friday night, her work spread across the floor, her right hand numb from holding her quill, and her hair piled in a bun on top of her head. She would have felt embarrassed by her frazzled state if her fellow seventh-years weren't all in the same position.

"Taste that."

Lara lifted her head from her Alchemy book and found Stan presenting her with a goblet. Eyeing the cup suspiciously, Lara shook her head. "No, not again," she whined. "I nearly threw up last time—"

"You're my _best friend_ ," Stan howled with a pleading look. "Please, La."

Lara groaned but reached for the goblet, slowly bringing it to her lips. Bracing her shoulders, she hesitantly took a sip of the brownish liquid. " _Urgh_!" She retched loudly as the sour juice hit the back of her throat. "It still tastes like vinegar—oh _Merlin_ , Stan! It's disgusting!"

Stan let out a noise between a growl and a moan before taking back the goblet, once more muttering the spell that was _supposed_ to turn the vinegar into wine. Practicing the spell was his Charms homework—it was the only spell he hadn't been able to master last year. Flitwick had said there was no room for leniency as the spell might be on the N.E.W.T.s practical, so Stan had to have it perfected by next week.

Beside him, Erin was busy scribbling into her Herbology book with Fiona Gerald. By the windowsill, Alexa Dawn and Allison Sky, the other two seventh-year girls in Gryffindor, were working on Astronomy homework with Zach Alas and Glenn Chan. Trent Angel and Rhys Newton, the last of the seventh-years, had disappeared upstairs fifteen minutes ago saying that if they had to work for one minute longer, they would ask the giant squid to drown them.

Lara couldn't blame them.

"Well, don't you lot look _happy_?"

Lara, who was still spluttering and cringing as she tried to clear the disgusting taste from her mouth, could only throw a half-hearted glare at the group of sixth-years as they loped over. Angelina and Alicia sat on the couch with the girls, Lee sat on the arm of Stan's chair, and the twins fell to the ground, landing half on top of Lara's things.

"Don't crinkle the scroll—the _scroll_ —oh Merlin…"

The twin currently crumpling Lara's Alchemy essay winced sheepishly. "Sorry, Lala."

"Lala?" Lara smirked as she gathered her things together, pushing them away from the twins (and their wandering hands). "I think that's a new one."

He grinned widely and somehow—even in years to come, she wouldn't understand the _exact_ mechanisms behind it—she knew it was Fred. "I like to be different," Fred said.

"I think we all know that," snorted Lara.

"Where's all this homework come from?" Angelina asked loudly, staring down at Erin and Fiona's pile of scrolls and books in horror.

"N.E.W.T.s, Johnson. _N.E.W.T.s._ " Erin sounded highly stressed. "Don't grow up, I tell you. Stay a sixth-year forever!"

"Have you got D.A.D.A. homework?"

"Just to practice our wandwork," answered Stan. "Have you guys had him yet?"

All of the sixth-years grinned and nodded. Lee's eyes widened in awed recognition.

"He's mental, isn't he?" George burst out excitedly. "Bloody fantastic, but still mental. I talked to Ron last night—he showed the fourth-years the Unforgivables."

Fiona gasped quietly. " _Showed_ them?"

"On a spider," Lee confirmed, nodding.

"That's _horrible_ ," Lara spat and dropped her quill onto her books. "He can't _do_ that—"

"He also can't turn Malfoy into a ferret," Alicia said. "But he did."

"We just worked on non-verbal spells," Stan whispered. Even Stan, who wasn't overly fussed about animals, looked slightly disturbed. "Although he did jinx Lucian Bole for being a knob and messing around during lesson."

"Jinxed him?"

"Jelly-Legs," answered Erin. "Fell to the ground like a fat brick."

There was a moment of silence among the group as they came to the realisation that, although Moody seemed to be a great man, he was a rather… odd choice for a teacher. If McGonagall found out about the Unforgivable Curses, she would _freak out_ —

A sudden rattling noise broke Lara out of her daze. Glancing over, she saw a rather bushy-haired girl standing beside Stan and Lee's armchair, a box in one hand and a small tin in the other.

"Alright, Hermione?" Fred chirped happily. "What's that in your hand?"

"I'm glad you asked!" The fourth-year smiled and handed the bucket to Stan. "I've started a new organisation."

Stan picked something up from the bucket. It looked like a small orange badge. "Spew?" he murmured.

"Not _spew_ ," Hermione huffed impatiently. "S.-P.-E.-W. It stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

There was a short silence.

And then: "The _what_?"

"The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare," Hermione repeated, staring levelly at Erin, who had been the one to cry out. "Did you know all of your comforts, all the things that keep you warm and fed and happy, are provided by _house-elves_?"

"Well… yeah." Angelina shrugged unconcernedly. "They clean the common room and stuff, don't they? Do the laundry? Make the food?"

"For _free_!" Hermione squealed so shrilly, Angelina jumped in shock. "They don't get _paid_. They don't get _holidays._ They don't get a _retirement package_."

"Paid?" Alicia whispered to Angelina, her eyebrows furrowed. "Why would they be paid—"

"Because they're _working_. They _should_ get paid," Hermione spat, turning away from them with a huff. "I want to make sure that they get the respect they deserve. They shouldn't be _slaves_."

"But—"

"The enslavement of house-elves has lasted for centuries, did you know that?" Hermione continued, ignoring Lee as he tried to speak. "All they do is help and care for wizards, and they're treated worse than dirt. They're _owned_ by the wizards that they work for."

"But they—"

"And for twenty-four hours a day, every day, a group of house-elves make sure you've got a full stomach, a warm common room, and a clean, comfy bed—"

"How much are the badges?" questioned Fiona, her jaw slightly clenched. She still had a hand hovering over her Herbology homework, and she was scowling at Hermione as if she just wanted her to shut up.

"Two Sickles," Hermione said brightly and lifted up the small tin, shaking it exuberantly.

Fiona, Angelina, and Erin handed over the money hastily. Alicia said she had to get the Sickles from her dormitory, though it was clear she didn't plan on returning. Lee and Stan also, _very_ reluctantly, paid her.

"House-elves, really?" Lara asked as Hermione came over, holding the tin in front of Lara's face. "I didn't realise."

"Neither did I, until this year," sniffed Hermione.

"And they don't get _paid_?"

"Nothing." An angry sort of look crossed the fourth-year's face. "I can't believe it. Families own them, too, and make them work like… like… it's like they don't _matter._ They don't even have clothes or anything, because if they're given clothes by their masters, it sets them free."

"That's disgusting. Slavery as a whole should be abolished, both in the Muggle _and_ the wizarding world."

Hermione's brown eyes softened slightly as Lara dug through her bag. "Are you Muggle-born?" she asked quietly.

"Pure-blood, actually." Lara shrugged with a small smile. "But my brother works with creatures and beasts. He's told me about some abuse cases… Anyway, here, have two Galleons. One for me, one for my brother."

"Thanks." Hermione beamed before turning to the twins expectantly.

"Absolutely not," Fred said quickly.

"What? _Why_?"

"Because the house-elves here are _happy_ ," replied George. "They have it a hell of a lot better than some families' house-elves. If you go around doing this, you'll upset them."

"Plus," Fred added bitterly, his voice low, "we don't have anything to _give_ you."

George's eyes also darkened. After sharing a look, the twins bid a quick goodbye to the surrounding group and trudged upstairs, Lee trailing along behind them. Hermione stared after them for a moment with a cross expression, but then she sighed and grabbed her bucket and tin before disappearing up the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories.

The sixth and seventh-years watched her leave for a moment, and then Stan asked, "Did that just happen?"

"You mean did we just get manipulated by a fourth-year?" questioned Erin. "Yes. Yes, we did."

"Bloody hell," Stan whistled, leaning back in his chair, his goblet of vinegar wine long forgotten. "The Ministry better watch out, huh?"

* * *

 **Thanks for the reviews, favourites and alerts for the last chapter :) Hope you enjoy this one**

 **Oh, and have a great holiday!**


	6. Animal magnetism

**Chapter 6.**

 ** _Animal magnetism_**

"I'm telling you, she was _definitely_ a veela."

Lara smirked as she took another bite of her bacon sandwich, her eyes slipping to Erin who looked utterly peeved off.

"What does it matter if she _was_?" Erin spat angrily.

"Who pissed in your pumpkin juice—"

"You're saying it as if it makes her _better_." Erin continued. "There's loads of pretty girls in the world."

"Not like that," Omar sighed dreamily. "Did you see her? Her _hair_ …"

"Lara's blond."

"Don't bring me into this," snorted Lara, holding her hands up defensively. "I'm just glad Walter isn't here."

The group chuckled, even Erin, and the tense atmosphere slowly faded away. Erin, who'd abandoned her porridge as soon as Omar and Stan began to talk about the pretty French veela girl, went back to eating her food. Amanda and Lara shared an amused smile.

The Great Hall was a hub of activity and sizzling anticipation this-morning. Everyone was up early, much earlier than they usually were on a Saturday, whispering hurriedly to each other and glancing at the stone goblet with the blue-white flames flickering from the top. There were also two dozen more bodies in the hall, both from Durmstrang and Beauxbations, dressed in blood red and periwinkle silk respectively. The Hogwartians kept peering over at the newcomers, either to giggle or to judge, as both schools had brought students of particular interest among the population.

The Durmstrang's had brought Viktor Krum, the Seeker for the Bulgarian Quidditch Team, the very same boy Lara had seen catch the snitch at the World Cup only two months before. His surprising arrival had sent the whole school into a tizzy. Almost everyone wanted an autograph, and those who didn't were lying. As people digested his presence, the Beauxbations students turned up, as extravagant and sophisticated as their school name suggested. A girl took off her headscarf during the Halloween feast, revealing a mane of silvery blonde hair, large blue eyes and a perfectly angular face.

It didn't take a genius to work out she was part Veela.

All the boys loved her.

All the girls hated her.

Naturally.

On top of all this, the Triwizard Tournament had officially begun last night. The goblet sat in the entrance hall, waiting for students' names. For all the talk that the Hogwarts students had been doing for the past month, not many had put their names in. There were rumours that Warrington from Slytherin and Diggory from Hufflepuff had, but that was it.

Amanda had a theory that most people would have put their names in late last night or early this-morning, but Lara wasn't so sure. She had a feeling that, when faced with the reality of actually competing, most people had bottled it. Even her friends, who had talked about the tournament none-stop for weeks now, hadn't put their names in. Omar and Amanda said they wanted to focus on N.E.W.T.S and Erin muttered something about _not wanting to die by a dragon_ and changed the subject.

Stan was a little more honest.

"I'm not a bloody idiot," he'd scoffed last night at the Halloween meal after Lara questioned if he was still entering. "Only an absolute nut-job would actually enter that thing. I want to _live_ , thank you very much."

The next morning, he hadn't changed his mind, even if he had sighed wistfully when the Durmstrang students put their names in.

The group of friends finished off their breakfast before heading back to the Entrance Hall, where most of the students had gathered to watch the Goblet of Fire. Lara slipped to the floor with Erin and Amanda near the House Point hourglasses. As they chatted about who was likely to put their name in, laughter echoed from the staircase. Lara glanced over and did a double-take when she saw Fred, George and Lee rushing through the crowd.

Lara watched, a grin spreading across her face, as Fred talked to Harry Potter for a moment before standing at the edge of the Age Line. Hovering at the circle like a diver about to launch into a pool, Fred took a deep breath and stepped across the golden line.

For one long, astounded second, Lara thought it had worked. She suddenly had images of having to stand on the Gryffindor table during dinner, announcing to the world that Fred Weasley was the best, funniest, hottest, most charming prankster—

A sizzling sound echoed through the Entrance Hall, like a firework about to explode. Fred and George, who were already celebrating their victory, didn't realise anything was happening until they were suddenly thrown across the hall. They both landed heavily ten feet away from the Age Line, which was bad enough, but then with a popping sound, they both grew long, white breads.

Lara burst into uncontrollable laughter along with the rest of the hall. After a moment of shock, the twins pushed themselves to their feet and joined in with the amusement as they looked at each other's straggly beards.

"I did warn you," a deep voice said, capturing everyone's attention. Glancing over, Lara saw Professor Dumbledore stood smiling at the twins. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little, too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours."

Fred and George grinned and headed off for the hospital wing, Lee Jordan following quickly behind, their howling laughter booming all the way down the corridor. Lara and her friends were still giggling when a familiar figure appeared from the stairs.

"Go on Angelina!" whooped Erin, clapping loudly as the Gryffindor sixth year headed for the goblet.

"Woooooo!" Lara joined in, cupping her hands around her mouth to yell louder. "Good luck, Angie!"

Angelina beamed as she placed her name into the goblet. "Thanks guys!" she chirped before heading into the Great Hall for breakfast.

Stan watched her go with knitted eyebrows, clapping absentmindedly. Then he let out a grunting sigh and said, "Right, that's it. I'm going for it. Who's got a quill?"

Erin, Amanda and Omar offered him a quill each, identical grins on their faces. "We knew you'd do this," Omar smirked at Stan's confused expression.

"I have your name already written," Lara dug into her bag and produced the small piece of paper. "If you want it."

Stan snorted and took the paper. As he walked over to put his name in, his friends cheered and stamped their feet loudly. And as the goblet flickered red, Lara couldn't keep the smile from her face.

 **oOooOoOOOooOoOOoOoOOoOOooO**

" _Harry Potter_."

A stunned silence fell across the hall. Every head turned towards the black-haired boy, including Lara's. She stared at him, wide-eyed and open mouth, and was too shocked to realise that Harry himself looked flabbergasted. Suddenly, angry, hissing whispers flew around the Great Hall.

Harry muttered something to his best friends, who, by the looks of things, were too surprised to say anything back.

"Harry Potter!" Professor Dumbledore shouted again. "Harry! Up here, if you please!"

Hermione Granger reached out and pushed Harry to his feet. Harry tripped slightly over his robes, his face pale and sweaty as he made his way through the gap between the Hufflepuff's and the Gryfffindor's. The whispering got louder as he walked. Finally, Harry stood in front of the Headmaster.

"Well…through the door, Harry," Dumbledore said.

Harry slowly walked along the teacher's table, then slipped through a door out of the Great Hall.

"And that completes the choosing of the Triwizard Champions!" Dumbledore tried to look excited, but if anything he looked worried. Most of the students weren't listening anyway; even the Durmstrang's and the Beauxbatons were hissing to each other. "Now, if you could all go back to your dormitories—excuse me…"

He slipped off towards the door the Triwizard Champions had just disappeared through. Crouch, Karkaroff, Madam Maxime, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape all hurried after him. Once they were out the hall, the crowd instantly burst into noise.

"What the _hell_ ," breathed Stan, still staring at the area Harry had vanished.

"I can't believe it," Erin said and shook her head, utterly bewildered. "I can't _believe_ it."

"How did he do that?" George Weasley's frustrated voice echoed down the table. "And why didn't he share?"

Ron Weasley, bright red in the face and ears and gripping the edge of the table, scoffed and said. "He'll have wanted the glory, won't he?"

" _Ronald_." Hermione gasped, glaring at her ginger best friend. "You know Harry wouldn't put his name in without telling us!"

"Wouldn't he?"

"So what if he did?" Fred exclaimed excitedly. "Point is, we have a _Gryffindor_ champion! Come on, everyone, we need to go throw a party for when he gets back."

He jumped to his feet, George and Lee close behind. They were barely ten feet away from the table before several others ran after them, the confusion turning into excitement. Colin and Dennis Creevey looked absolutely past themselves; Dennis was hopping around like a tiny, blonde, volatile bunny. Alicia was yelling something about Harry being the perfect choice for the Champion.

"I mean, look what he's done!" she exclaimed loudly to the captivated crowd. "He fought Professor Quirrell in first year, killed a Basalisk in second, avoided a serial killer in third—I think he might have a shot!"

"He's a _fourth_ year," someone yelled in the distance.

"Yeah, and you're boring," Angelina replied sassily. "But you don't hear us being condescending about it, do you?"

The Gryffindor's were in the party mood. Back in the common room, Lee Jordan was shouting about a Gryffindor banner he had upstairs, while the Weasley twins were gathering butterbeer and snacks. Angelina and Alicia set up the radio in the corner. The Creevey brothers were squeaking excitedly by the fire as they talked about getting Harry's autograph.

Lara found herself perched near the windowsill, watching everyone hurry around the common room to prepare the celebration. At one point, George appeared with a butterbeer and handed it to her, and at another point Fred handed her a bag of peanuts. Stan was immersed in conversation about _how_ Harry had gotten over the Age Line with Rhys and Glenn. Erin was beaming as she snacked on a chocolate wand.

And yet, Lara felt…odd.

Overhearing Alicia talk about Harry's previous expeditions had stirred something inside of her…questions that didn't have answers, so many things that didn't make sense. Why, after everything he'd been through, would Harry put his name in the goblet? Lara didn't know him that well—if at all—but even she knew he wasn't the type to revel in the attention he received. Whenever he was called The Chosen One, he'd shrink back and evert his eyes. Any special treatment he received was met by confusion and polite but tense replies.

So _why_ would he put his name in the goblet?

 _He wouldn't_.

But if Harry's friends—his _best_ friends—thought he had, who was Lara to second guess it?

Harry turned up an hour or so later to tremendous applause and cheers. Everyone asked him how he beat the Age Line, why he didn't tell them he was entering the tournament, and how the teachers and other champions reacted. Throughout it all, Harry remained rigid and strained, his shoulders hunched as he shook his head at people's questions. Lara watched him from a distance, her confusion and suspicion increasing as the minutes ticked by.

Because if Harry really had beaten the Age Line, if he really did trick everyone, including the teacher's, why wasn't he more smug about it?

"I'm tired!" Harry suddenly screamed after half an hour. "No, seriously, George—I'm going to bed—"

He ran up the stairs, leaving the Gryffindor's to celebrate without him. Lara leant back against the windowsill and sighed, taking a swig of her butterbeer.

"Ah, butterbeer," an amused voice said. "Fond memories."

"Freddy." She smirked towards the ginger-haired boy. "You look positively delighted."

"A _Gryffindor_ champion," Fred grinned widely. "If he wins, we have bragging rights over the Hufflepuff's for _years_. And after the way they reacted about us losing to them last year—"

"Bloody Quidditch," snorted Lara, taking a leaf from Erin's book. "It's all you boys think about."

"And girls."

"And girls," Lara agreed.

Fred grinned and Lara took another drink of beer. Slowly, Fred's expression dropped and he eyed Lara suspiciously. "What's up with you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't seem very excited," he said. "You seem…down."

"Not down, just…thoughtful." Lara hummed, unable to stop herself from glancing towards the boy's dormitory stairs.

"Don't tell me. I know how it is. You fancy Harry."

Lara's jaw dropped. "I do _not_! He's—he's a _kid_. Fred _Weasley_."

"It's alright. I understand. It's the eyes, right? They look like peas or something—"

"I don't fancy Harry," scoffed Lara, making Fred let out a bubble of laughter. "He's just a baby, really. I just…I don't know, I feel bad for him."

"Why?"

"He's had a hard life, that's all," she shrugged lightly. "First his parents. Plus, the whole Chosen One thing can't be easy. And then he comes to Hogwarts, his supposed safe place, and he has to fight a Professor in his first year, kill a Basalisk in his second, hide from a mass murderer in his third and compete in the most dangerous competition in the world in his fourth."

Fred opened his mouth to reply, then quickly shut it. His eyes were gradually turning serious, the mischievous glint turning to a retrospective shimmer. "Yeah, he doesn't have much luck, does he?" he eventually murmured, falling back against the windowsill.

"Not really," Lara smirked humourlessly. "Poor lad."

"Yeah."

"I don't think he put his name into the goblet, either," she whispered, glancing around the party to make sure no one overheard.

"Now you mention it," Fred began with a far-off look, "Neither do I. I mean, he'd be mad to enter, really. After everything."

"He would be a bit, yeah."

"So that means someone had to have put his name in," Fred murmured. "But who?"

"I don't know," mumbled Lara. "Maybe it's just a prank? Maybe a Slytherin?"

"I bet it's that Bole bloke. He always cheats at Quidditch."

"Always leads back to Quidditch."

Fred turned his head to look at her and the glint in his eye was back. "Cheeky bugger," he smirked. "And to think I've been so _nice_ to you."

"Just lovely," Lara replied flatly. "The way you put your arse on my Alchemy essay was particularly kind."

"Who takes Alchemy, anyway?"

Lara rolled her eyes, a smile coming to her face. "You owe me from the bet, by the way. Your beard was fantastic."

"Oh no," groaned Fred, straightening again and pulling a face. "I thought you'd forget…"

"Like you would forget if _you_ won?"

"I wouldn't have actually made you do it."

Lara raised her eyebrows.

"Okay, okay," sighed Fred. "Yes I would. What do you want?"

Lara paused to think and an arm suddenly landed across her shoulders, bringing her against a solid chest. "Is this it?" George beamed joyously. "Is this the moment where Fred loses his dignity? What will you make him do? Run naked through the halls? Call Snape 'mum'? Ask McGonagall to marry him?"

"I've already asked her," said Fred. "She said no. Apparently I'm too young for her."

"Well, the first one sounds fun…" Lara murmured.

"You just want to see me naked."

Lara gave Fred a tepid look. "No, I want _McGonagall_ to see you naked."

The twins cringed simultaneously. "I think I'd rather do a naked jig in front of Snape," George grumbled. "I'd never be able to look McGonagall in the eye again."

"And yet you'd be able to look at Snape?"

"Well, that's already a struggle, isn't it?" smirked Fred. "All that grease makes my eyes sting."

"You two are awful," Lara said, turning her face into George's chest to hide her amused smile. "I know what I want. You two sneak into Hogsmeade all the time, right?"

Fred's eyes widened. "We—I have no idea what you mean—"

"Everyone knows," Lara smirked as George began to panic, his grip on her neck tightening so much she almost coughed. "How else could you have a constant supply of food and pranks? Subtlety has never been your strong point, guys."

George relaxed and a small grin came to his face. "Yeah, we should probably work on that. Do you want something from Hogsmeade?"

"A constant supply of sweets and chocolate, whenever and wherever I want them," grinned Lara. "I'll provide the money, of course. You just have to be my mules."

"I don't see how _I_ got dragged into this," mumbled George.

"Done." Fred grinned brightly. "For a minute there I really thought you'd make me run naked through the halls."

"Urgh, nobody wants to see that," Lee appeared at Fred's side, a teasing grin on his face. "I get enough of it in the dorm."

"Lucky you," said Fred. "I have a _fine_ arse."

That was the moment Erin chose to turn up, her expression one of befuddlement. " _What_ are you lot talking about?"

"Fred's arse." Lara answered simply. "Apparently."

"I think I have a better one," murmured George, straining his neck to look behind him.

"Aren't they identical?"

"I don't know." Fred said, then turned and wiggled his bum. "You tell us."

"Dear Merlin…" Lee whispered as Erin looked between the Weasley twins, her eyebrows knitted together in concentration.

"Definitely identical," nodded Erin. "Don't you think, Lara?"

"No fair!" George yelped instantly. "She snogged Fred, she'll have a instinctive animal magnetism towards him!"

"Animal magnetism?" Lara repeated dubiously at the same time Erin sighed and said;

" _Fine_. Lee, who's got the better arse?"

"Don't ask _me_ —"

Erin and Lee began to bicker, Fred shook his arse more to try and divert their attention back to him, and George called for Angelina and Alicia as he wanted their opinion on the identical butt situation. And Lara once again found herself leaning against the windowsill, enjoying the moment and the laughter, but unable to completely forget about the green-eyed boy with the sad eyes.

* * *

 _I know I say it every time, but thanks everyone for your reviews, favourites and alerts. I didn't think I'd have over 60 people with this story in their alerts on only chapter 5, so thank you so much! Hope everyone had a great holiday!_

 _Next chapter will be much faster, promise. I've already got it like 40% done and it's called_ The smile of love _..._

 _ps thanks to the person that pointed out the mistake in the last chapter, must have left it in there after the edits...oops :)_


	7. The smile of looooveee

**Chapter 7.**

 ** _The smile of looooveee_**

On Monday morning, Lara blearily entered the Great Hall with Erin, walking automatically towards the Gryffindor table. She was just about to sit down, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, when someone yelled out.

"Oi, Culpepper! Think fast!"

Lara looked up and saw something flying towards her. Unfortunately, she hadn't inherited the same reflexes as Walter and she was relatively crap at Quidditch, so instead of catching the object, she squealed and jumped back. The small cotton bag landed on the floor with a thud and the contents spilled out; chocolate wands, chocolate frogs, liquorice wands, pumpkin fizzes and sugar quills.

"What the _hell_." Lara muttered in surprise, her tiredness having been knocked out of her. Looking up, she saw Fred stood a little way down the table, grinning widely at her dishevelled state. " _Weasley_!"

"You were meant to catch it."

" _Catch_ it?" she repeated angrily. "I'm not a _dog_ , Weasley. You could've just _handed_ them to me."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"You're an idiot," she sighed, bending to put the sweets back into the bag. "Thank you, though!"

"You're welcome!"

Once she'd picked up everything, Lara stuffed it into her backpack before sitting at the table for her breakfast. Glancing down the table, she saw Fred was sat talking to his little brother Ron, who looked surly and annoyed.

"What's up with the little Weasley?" asked Lara quietly, leaning over to speak to Stan. "He looks upset."

"There's a rumour going around that he and Harry had a falling out," Stan replied.

"Falling out? About what?"

"The Tournament. Ron's not happy that Harry didn't tell him he was going to put his name in."

"He's not the only one," muttered Glenn, his eyes glancing towards the rest of the hall. "The Hufflepuff's are bloody furious. They think Harry took away their glory."

"I thought they were supposed to be the _nice_ house," grumbled Erin.

"The Ravenclaw's are being knobs, too," Stan said, a cross sort of look coming to his face. "They think Harry's a fame leech. The Slytherin's are being gits, as well, but that's just a given."

"That's so stupid," Lara hissed with a shake of her head. "There's room for two champions."

"That's what I've been saying," Stan agreed. "We need to think of this as a _school_ thing, not a house thing."

"I can't believe people are actually angry with Harry," Lara huffed and began to irately make a bowl of cereal. "He didn't even _want_ this."

"Well, he did a bit," Glenn shrugged. "He put his name in—"

" _Did_ he?" snapped Lara, and a look of surprise came across the three Gryffindor's faces. "Because I'm not so sure. If anyone bothered to pay attention to that boys face yesterday at the party, they would've realised how horrified he looked."

Stan, Glenn and Erin glanced at each other doubtfully.

Lara sighed. "It doesn't matter if you don't agree with me, and I could be wrong, but I don't think he's as into this as people seem to think."

"Maybe," Erin said loyally, as Lara could tell she didn't _really_ agree but didn't want Lara to be upset. "Anyway, has anyone done the DADA homework? I was stuck on the third question."

The subject was determinedly changed and the Triwizard Tournament wasn't mentioned for the rest of the day. In fact, Lara noticed that her friends didn't mention the Tournament for the next _few_ days. It was almost like they avoided mentioning it around her. A couple of times, Lara _swore_ her friends would suddenly stop talking when she joined them, and they'd suddenly start a conversation about Hagrid's unhealthy obsession with the Blast-Ended Skrewts or the difficultly of their homework.

By the time Friday came around, Lara was at the end of her tether. She had far too much work to do, her lessons were bloody hard, she was 90% sure she was getting a cold, she'd twisted her ankle chasing a Skrewt around Hogwarts grounds, and her friends were annoying her with their inconspicuous conversations. She decided to spend the night in the library, mostly to be alone and bask in the quietness, and headed that way after dinner with her books.

She was so riled, so frazzled by everyday life, that by the time she got to the hallway leading to the library, she felt like she was about to explode. Which is why, she reasoned later, she lost her temper so easily.

A bunch of Slytherin's were walking towards her, sniggering as if they'd done something great. The white blonde hair made Lara realise it was Draco Malfoy, a smarmy fourth year boy whose idea of fun was bullying people. Two rather spotty and grungy boys flanked his sides, as they always did, but Lara had never bothered to learn their names. Something about the way they were acting made Lara stop walking and stare at them.

On their chests, they all wore the same large badge, the letter luminous red against their black Hogwarts robes.

 _Support CEDRIC DIGGORY—_

 _the REAL Hogwarts Champion!_

Lara's jaw dropped, just as the letters swirled and disappeared, only to be replaced by green words that read;

 _POTTER STINKS_

"You pathetic bullies!" Lara squealed before she could stop herself, and all three heads turned towards her. "Take those badges off _right now_ —"

"Who are _you_?" sneered Malfoy.

"That's not important," she snapped heatedly. She'd always tried to keep her opinions to herself about Malfoy given he was over three years younger than her, but with her newfound stress, she couldn't filter her mouth. "You little git. How _dare_ you make those badges—"

Malfoy laughed meanly. "What do you think gives you the right to speak to me like this—"

"Oh, shut up." Lara snipped irritably. "It's hard to listen to you be all high and mighty about yourself when you were a squealing ferret three months ago."

"You're not a prefect," Malfoy spat, the apples of his cheeks staining red. He glanced at his two beefy companions as if daring them to laugh. "Or Head Girl, you can't tell me what to do."

"You know, one day, karma's going to bite you in the arse," Lara said sternly. "I just hope you have the strength and the people to help you through it," she peered at the two idle looking boys at his side. "Although, I severely doubt it."

Malfoy looked more confused than anything. Lara wondered if he'd ever thought about the future, about when he left school and he needed real friends and family to help him through the hard times. Malfoy didn't seem to realise nobody stayed a teenager forever.

"She's right, you know," a voice sounded from behind Lara, a familiar one that she hadn't heard for weeks. Turning slightly, Lara felt her heart skip in her chest when she saw David Brentford walking forward, his arms full of books. "Real life will catch up with you at some point, Malfoy. And you'll crash and burn."

Malfoy scoffed at them both and stormed away, muttering something about 'pathetic Gryffindor's' and 'stupid seventh years'. Lara rolled her eyes at his retreating back, the fire in her stomach slowly dimming now she had nothing to focus on. Shuffling on her feet, Lara peered over at David, who was also staring at the three Slytherin's and shaking his head.

"Thank you for backing me up," Lara said quietly, and David turned to her with a small smile. "I don't know what came over me."

"I think it was justified," David waved his hand unconcernedly. "And you weren't horrible about it. What you said is true—one day, he'll need people to support him and they'll be no one around."

"Yeah…I just hope it won't have consequences for other people, too."

"Who knows?" David shrugged and then he smiled. "Are you going to the library?"

"Yeah, I have loads of homework. I've kind of…slacked off a little this week," Lara hoisted the things in her arms up her body, a book digging into her hipbone. "I have DADA, Herbology and Alchemy essays to finish."

"Best get to it then, yeah?" he began to walk towards the library, and Lara instinctively followed. "Do you mind if I sit with you? Maybe we can bounce ideas off each other."

Lara ignored the way her heart flipped in her chest. "Sure," she breathed as held the library door open, allowing her to enter the room. "Sounds good."

He smiled widely and Lara almost let out a dreamy sigh. With everything that was going, she'd pretty much forgotten about her crush on David. Sometimes she saw him in the hallways and lessons, and butterflies would explode in her stomach or she'd suddenly poke herself in the eye with her quill or drop something, but she hadn't _properly_ thought about him since Stan's summer party…where she'd snogged Fred Weasley to make him jealous.

Lara instinctively cringed as she followed David to a table. She still couldn't believe she'd done that; it was so _unlike_ her. At least, she thought it was, but with recent events she wasn't so sure. She'd got rather outspoken this year, more confident (or more stupid). Before, she just _thought_ about her opinions, but this year she was speaking them, too. This time last year, she wouldn't have dared to argue with her house mates about Harry bloody Potter, and she _definitely_ wouldn't have called Malfoy out on his foolishness.

Yet here she was, spending Friday night in the library to avoid her concerned and overprotective friends who thought she was losing the plot, and now she was about to study with David Brentford after yelling at Malfoy and his two lackeys in the hallway.

Seventh year was _strange_.

Lara sighed and placed her things onto the table, dropped her bag to the floor and sat down. David sat opposite her on the rectangular table, preparing his own books and scrolls. Lara couldn't help but watch him from the corner of her eye, her heart thumping slightly too fast in her chest. She'd forgotten how good-looking he was; the definition of tall, dark and handsome. And he had the most amazing blue eyes.

"Shall we work on DADA?" David asked, not noticing Lara's stare. "Get it out the way?"

"Okay," Lara nodded, reaching for her DADA books. In her nervousness, she knocked a bunch of scrolls to the floor, which then knocked over an inkpot. "Oh, shit."

"I've got it," David said instantly, whipping out his wand from his robes and muttering a spell. The ink lifted from the table and went back into the pot, as if the spillage had never happened. "Is that _pink_ ink?"

"Ah, yeah," Lara murmured and placed her scrolls back onto the table, her face and neck burning. "My brother buys me it from Diagon Alley…if you met him, it would make sense."

David let out a quiet laugh. "Does that mean he's a little weird?"

"More than a little," Lara smiled fondly. "Which reminds me, I really need to reply to his letter."

"What does he do?"

"He's works in the Beast Division at the Ministry. Specialises in dragons."

"Does he really? That sounds…dangerous."

"Yeah, I guess," Lara shrugged. "But what's life without adventure, right?"

"Spoken like a true Gryffindor."

Lara beamed at him; no one had _ever_ said something like that to her before. She was always so peaceful, so shy, compared to her flamboyant and rowdy house mates. _Bravery_ ; that was the definition of a true Gryffindor, and yet Lara never felt like she had much. For years she'd actually wondered if the hat had placed her in the wrong house. She wasn't a hatstall or anything—in fact, the Sorting Hat had declared her a Gryffindor within the first five seconds of being on her head. But if anything, this had made her worry more.

Had the hat just said a random house to get her off the stool? Had it _really_ thought about where to put her?

She should have known the hat was never wrong.

They worked in compatible silence for a long while, exchanging a few words here and there about the homework. Generally, however, both of them were fairly adapt to DADA and could finish off the essay alone. Herbology was much of the same, though David seemed to struggle a little more with the creativity aspect of the essay. Still, by the time they decided to leave the library, both essays were complete.

"I don't think I've ever got that much done in one sitting," Lara commented as she left the library, turning to smile at David brightly. "I feel like a Ravenclaw."

"The Ravenclaw's would be lucky to have you," David responding teasingly, though it made Lara blush the colour of a tomato.

"Well, thank you," she replied fighting to keep her voice even. "I'll make sure to tell Mandy and Omar."

"I really admire your friendship with them," David said as the duo began to walk through the hallways. "There's not many groups of friends that mix houses."

"Well, Erin, Stan and I met Mandy on the train, and she'd already made friends with Omar. Stan and Omar hit it off, being the only boys and all, and, well…the rest is history, I suppose."

"Doesn't house loyalty get in the way? Quidditch, for instance?"

"Mandy and Omar don't really like Quidditch, to be honest," chuckled Lara, hugging a book to her chest anxiously. This was the longest conversation she'd ever had with David and the realisation made her stomach knot. "It's usually just me and Stan at the matches. The other three prefer to hang out and play Exploding Snap."

"And you and Stan are…"

"Friends." Lara stated firmly. "Just friends. I love the boy, but after the Flobberworm bet we were never going to be anything more."

"The Flobberworm bet?"

"We were down at the lake in second year, just hanging out, really. Stan bet me to eat a flobberworm and…well, I'm a Gryffindor for a reason. So after I ate one, I made him eat one and…it didn't go well. We spent two days in the hospital wing taking turns throwing up into buckets. Turns out Flobberworms have acidic properties that irritate your stomach lining. Who knew, huh?"

David looked slightly alarmed. "You _ate_ a Flobberworm?"

"I was _twelve_ ," Lara replied embarrassedly. "And he triple dared me and called me a chicken—dance moves and clucking noises and everything—so I kinda _had_ to."

"Okay." David let out a surprised laugh, just as they got to the Entrance Hall where they'd have to split, Lara to go upstairs and David to go down. "So, eh…what about Fred Weasley? Is he…something more?"

"Oh Circe," Lara whispered, mortified. "No, he's not. I still can't believe I—he's a great guy, probably one of the funniest people I've ever met, but…there's nothing going on between us."

David nodded, though his eyebrows pulled together slightly. "It seems like he likes you," he said quietly.

Lara fumbled nervously with her bag, her chest aching with the pressure of her thumping heart. "Funnily enough, you're not the first person to say that," she said, hoping he would catch the jokey edge to her voice.

"Oh."

He didn't.

"But I don't think he does," Lara added quickly. "He's just…he's being nice. We get along and…we're mates—mates as in the friend sense, not the _mating_ animal sense, obviously—not that you would think that, but you never know—"

A group of Hufflepuff girls walked past, giggling and whispering excitedly to each other. Each and every one of them wore a _POTTER STINKS_ badge, which glowed in the dim light of the hallway. They caught Lara's eye from the distance and she instantly stopped rambling, her anger at the judgemental nature of the Hogwarts students once again taking over. She scoffed irritably and glared at the girls as they walked past—not that they noticed.

"Ignore them." David said as Lara scowled at their fading figures. "People are just jealous."

"Of _what_?"

"Of Harry, for a start. For his fame. No one really stops to think _how_ he got the fame," David shrugged with a wry smile. "And now people are jealous that not only did he trick the Age Line _and_ Dumbledore, he's a Triwizard _Champion_. The whole worlds going bonkers about him."

"For all the wrong reasons," murmured Lara. "He could _die_."

"I know, it's silly."

He was the first person to not make her feel stupid about her thoughts on Harry. Throwing him a grateful smile, she hugged her books tighter to her chest and gulped nervously. David cleared his throat and ducked his head slightly.

"Eh, anyway…" he licked his lips and rocked on his heels. "I better get back…curfew in half an hour…"

"Yeah." Lara nodded. "Don't want to be caught by Mrs Norris."

David's nose curled. "I'm more of a dog person."

"Me too," Lara giggled, and then stopped herself before she got carried away. "Goodnight."

"Night."

Spinning on her heels, Lara skipped towards the stairs, and all the way back to the common room. The Fat Lady gave her a very suspicious look when Lara turned up in front of her, a massive smile on her face and an illuminous glow to her cheeks. She tried to ask about it, but Lara said the password and rushed through the portrait hole, a dreamy sigh escaping her lips.

The common room was rather full, which was expected since it was so close to curfew. Lara intended to go straight to her dorm and tell Erin about her evening, but as she moved towards the stairs, someone yelled out, "Hey Culpepper!"

Turning, Lara saw the Gryffindor sixth years gathered around the fire. She wasn't sure which one had called her name, so she bounded over and smiled at them all. "Hey guys," she greeted them happily. "How's things?"

"You seem chipper," Lee smirked.

"I got two essays done, so I'm pretty happy right now," she shrugged, which was half-true.

"So that's where you've been all night?"

"Yep. What have you lot been up to?"

"The boys have been betting on the First Task," Angelina replied with a roll of her eyes. "Who'll be the fastest, who'll be the slowest, who'll be the most hurt…"

"Harry will win, obviously," said George confidently, making Lara smile at her budding-friends loyalty. "And then Diggory, Krum and Delacour. Krum's not smart enough to come second, and Delacour's not as nimble as the others…"

"You're putting a lot of thought into this," Lara said and settled down onto the floor in front of the fire, realising she wanted to stay for a little while and talk about the Tournament. Whenever she mentioned it to her friends, they'd make no comment and change the subject.

"But Diggory will have the most injuries," Lee said.

"No way, that'll be Harry," snorted Fred. "I mean, it's _Harry_."

"Has he made up with Ron yet?" Lara asked concernedly.

"No." Fred growled, rolling his eyes dramatically. "He's doing my bloody head in. He just sits and looks moody."

"He's a delight," George said sarcastically, his voice light. "Sunshine of my life, that boy. Sometimes I wonder if I'd ever laugh without him."

"He's annoying you, too, huh?"

" _So_ much." George sighed. "He's a wildly frustrating person."

"He'll come round eventually," Alicia said. "He's just being a stubborn git. Reminds me of someone, actually…two someone's, in fact, and they're ginger and quite identical…"

Both twins scoffed, which did nothing more than prove Alicia's point.

Lee turned the conversation back to betting and Lara put a galleon on Harry winning, purely to show her allegiance to her house. As the group argued about whether or not it was moral to bet on potential deaths, Fred slipped from the arm of Lee's chair and onto the floor beside Lara. Lara, who had been staring into the fire dazedly, turned and smiled at him.

"What's up with you?" he smirked in amusement.

"Just a little giddy, that's all."

"About what?"

"My essays—"

"Bull." Fred snorted, giving her a flat look. "I know that smile. It's the smile of _looooveee_ —"

"Shut up," chuckled Lara, elbowing him in the ribs gently. "I _may_ have ran into David."

"And?"

"And we studied together."

" _Studied_?"

"It was nice," Lara laughed at Fred's horrified tone. "And then afterwards, he asked if I had anything going on with Stan or you, _and_ we bonded over our shared confusion about the Tournament."

"It's sounding promising, Culpepper."

"You think?"

He grinned at her hopeful tone. "Yeah. Just a little more and I'll reckon he'll make the move."

"What do you mean?"

"If he sees me flirting with you and realises that someone else might fancy you, he'll make his move. I mean, he must already suspect, right? To ask if there's anything going on between us?"

"I guess." Lara shrugged slightly. "But…what do I tell him if we do, you know, get together? _Oh, by the way, I flirted with Fred Weasley to make you notice me_? Doesn't that sound weird?"

"No. And if he thinks it is, you know what you say?"

"What?"

" _I had to because you're a bloody idiot_ ," he said in a high-pitched voice, flailing his hands around effeminately. " _And you're a stupid git who wouldn't make a move because of your man pride of whatever, so I had to give you a push. That push included me snogging the sexiest boy in the school—which, obviously, was Fred Weasley_. There. Done."

Lara tried to keep the smile from her face and couldn't. "You make it sound so simple."

"That's because most things are, love," Fred grinned. "It's overthinking that complicates things. Which is why I don't overthink _anything_."

"Yeah, _that's_ why." Lara snorted.

"So rude," Fred sighed in mock disappointment. "Anyway, the final stage of the plan is that you come to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow."

"With you? Like a date—"

"No, we'll go as a group," Fred said. "And you can be in that group. When we run into David in the village, I'll make sure to make it look like I fancy the hell out of you and he'll get jealous, realise he doesn't have all the time in the world and ask you out. _Voila_."

"Simple."

Fred's eyes glinted brightly and his smile, if possible, widened.

"Exactly. You're getting it, Culpepper."

* * *

 _Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and alerts guys! So happy you like this story!_

 _Next chapter: the Hogsmeade trip that is definitely not a date, not at all..._


	8. A cute sheep

**….**

 **Chapter 8.**

 ** _A cute sheep_**

" _That's_ what you're wearing?"

Lara, who was in the process of putting on mascara, jumped in shock, effectively poking herself in the eye with the wand. "Ow, _bugger_." Lara spat as her eye stung and began to water. "What the hell, Erin? I think I'm _blind_ —"

"You can't wear _jeans and a t-shirt_ to a _date_!"

"It's not a date," Lara snapped for the _hundredth_ time in twelve hours. "You're coming _with_ us, you bloody idiot."

"But Fred _asked_ you."

"He asked us both," Lara pointed out logically. "And we're going as a big group. So shush and get me a tissue."

Erin huffed, but did as she was asked, grabbing some tissue paper from the bathroom and handing it to Lara. Plonking herself onto Lara's bed, she stared down at her friend with narrowed eyes. "Will you at least change the t-shirt?" she asked after a stretch of silence, where Lara went back to her make-up. "Put on a nice jumper?"

"You can chose me a jumper, if you like," Lara sighed. "I warn you, however, that I own about fifty fluffy jumpers."

But Erin wasn't listening. As soon as she got permission, she began to dig through Lara's winter trunk, throwing jumpers and coats across the room. Fiona, who was sat on her bed studying, let out a frustrated sigh and Lara sent her an apologetic look.

"Here, wear this," Erin threw a thick, pink knitted jumper towards Lara. "The colour suits you and it looks incredibly soft, which will make Fred want to touch you all the time—"

"For Merlin's sake," muttered Lara, sending her best friend an angry glare. "I don't _want_ Fred to touch me."

Erin only smiled teasingly. "Okay, sure. Put the jumper on."

Muttering insulting things under her breath, Lara stripped out of her slogan t-shirt (DUE TO UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES, I AM AWAKE) and changed into the jumper. She guessed she would be grateful for the outfit change once she was in Hogsmeade given the village was always above the snowline, but right now she just felt silly.

Last night, after Lara agreed to go to Hogsmeade with the sixth years, she remembered she had also promised to keep Erin company, as Omar and Amanda were staying behind to do homework and Stan had a date with a Beauxbatons girl. Fred simply told her to invite Erin along. At the time, Lara thought it was a great idea—that was her first mistake.

Erin decided to completely ignore the fact that a _group_ of them were going and danced around the dormitory singing about Fred and Lara going on a date. Whenever it was mentioned that not only would Erin herself be with them, but also Lee, Angelina and Alicia, she waved it off, as if this was a minuscule, trivial detail and didn't really matter. She spent the rest of the night talking about what Lara should wear, how her hair should be, how her make-up should look, etc., etc.

Lara didn't want to shoot down Erin's excitement, but she thought all the dramatics were rather pointless. Even if it _was_ a date (which is categorically _wasn't_ ) Fred wouldn't care about clothes and hair and make-up. He wouldn't notice the difference between a tracksuit and a million galleon dress. It was one of Lara's favourite things about him, his ability to not give a crap. She never felt like she had to do something to impress him.

With a shake of her head, Lara finished off her make-up, grabbed her coat and headed downstairs. As she pulled on her gloves and scarf, Erin came up behind her and hissed. "Your scarf is going to mess up your hair."

"I'm _cold_ ," Lara huffed.

"But—"

"You're impossible."

"Are you girls ready to go?" a voice asked as Erin opened her mouth to argue. Looking over, Lara saw the twins and their friends standing and pulling on their winter attire, as Lee looked at them expectantly, having been the one to ask the question.

"Yeah," Lara replied with a quick smile as Erin stuck her tongue out at her childishly. "I hope someone bites it off."

"Hopefully Viktor Krum."

Lara couldn't help but giggle as they joined the sixth years. Fred and George were talking about going to Zonko's, Lee was flirting with Angelina and Erin, Lara and Alicia trailed behind, chatting about what sweets they were getting from Honeydukes. Alicia got so hyped up by the conversation that by the time they actually got to the shop, she couldn't decide what she wanted to buy.

"We'll meet you in the Broomsticks," moaned Lee, already backing towards the door. "I can't deal with this."

"Pumpkin fizzes—no, wait, Acid Pops—but what if I want something chocolatey? Chocolate wands _and_ Acid Pops? But what about Sugar Quills and Jelly Slugs? They last longer, so I can eat them while I study—"

"Go quickly," Angelina shooed the boys towards the door. "Save yourselves."

The twins and Lee walked out the shop, past the windows and disappeared from sight. Lara watched them go wistfully; she really wanted a butterbeer, and maybe a larger if she was feeling particularly reckless. Her sweets and chocolate stash was fully stocked thanks to Fred and George, so she had nothing to buy. But she didn't want to give Erin extra ammunition by going off with Fred.

Sighing, Lara stared at the toffee section for a while, waiting until Angelina told Alicia to, "Shape the bloody hell up," and Alicia finally grabbed a few things and went to the register. Erin all but rugby tackled Lara to the door and dragged her to the Three Broomsticks. Among the crowd, Lara could see three ginger heads and Lee's dreadlocks sat in a booth at the back.

"That _woman_." Erin cried once they were stood at the booth.

"She finally got her stuff, then?" smirked George.

"Eventually." Erin huffed as Lara sat down beside Lee and opposite Fred. She gave a small smile to Ron Weasley, who was sat in the corner of the booth with a sad frown on his freckled face. "She's just paying—Lee, want to come to the bar with me?"

Lee's face stretched into a cheery smile. "Sure," he replied. "George, Ron, why don't you come with? Drinks on me."

"What about me—"

"You've got one," Erin interrupted Fred's insulted whine.

"So has George—"

George quickly picked up his butterbeer and gulped it down.

Fred blinked slowly at his twin, then said, "Okay. So does Ron—"

George reached over and grabbed Ron's butterbeer, gulping that down, too. The fourth year boy scoffed indignantly.

"Great!" yelped Lee, getting to his feet. "Come on, then."

George scrambled over Fred, dragging Ron with him, who looked thoroughly befuddled and put-out. As the four of them rushed off together, Lara watched their retreating figures until they'd vanished in the crowd. "Subtle," she said once they'd gone, leaving Fred and Lara alone. "I should've known they were up to something."

Fred still looked very puzzled. "What just happened?"

"They want us to spend time alone together," Lara said with a smirk. "Erin, at least, seems to be under the impression we're in love and just haven't admitted it to ourselves yet."

"But—doesn't she know about David?"

"Yes. But that doesn't fit in with her plan, Fred."

"What plan?"

"For us to marry and have hundreds of ginger babies."

"I—what?" Fred shook his head confusedly.

"I know." Lara sighed, shrugging off her coat and pushing it aside. "Try sharing a dorm with her. It's highly stressful."

"And I thought Ron was going through some personal drama."

"How is he?"

"A moody git." Fred replied with pursed lips. "But I'm suddenly having an epiphany. George and Lee were in on this, too, right?"

"Looks like it."

"That makes so much sense. George made me comb my hair this-morning. And Lee attacked me with deodorant."

"I was made to change out of my slogan t-shirt."

Fred finally looked away from the area where his friends and brothers had disappeared, his brown eyes moving up and down Lara's form. "I love your slogan t-shirts," he grinned slowly. "They're funny."

"But this jumper is soft."

"You do kind of look like a pink sheep."

"A _sheep_?"

"A cute sheep."

Lara rolled her eyes. "And to think I was going to compliment your hair."

"I don't need compliments. I know my hair is fetching," he responded and dramatically flipped his imaginary hair.

"So sassy."

"Thanks," Fred flipped his hair again with a grin. "Want a drink? I'll buy first round."

"Sure, thanks."

He went off to the bar, leaving Lara to contemplate her surroundings. This wasn't how she expected her Hogsmeade trip to go, though she felt slightly stupid for not predicting Erin's schemes. Her dancing and celebrations last night were strange, but her insistence that Lara dress up and look pretty for a group outing should have made it so plain to see.

She wanted Lara to look good because she planned to leave her alone with Fred—obviously.

Sighing, Lara rested her elbows on the table and then placed her chin in her hands. Glancing around the pub, she tried to spot any of her friends, wondering if they were around here somewhere watching their ingenious plan be executed. Even Angelina and Alicia had to be in on it, as they still hadn't returned from Honeydukes. However, Lara couldn't see any of them; in the distance the Creevey brothers sat together, Hermione Granger was sat on her own with stuff probably related to S.P.E.W., and Stan was in the corner chatting up his pretty Beauxbatons companion.

Just as she was about to relax again, Lara spotted a familiar head of dark hair. There, sat at a rectangular table with some friends, was David. He had a butterbeer in his hand, a smile on his face as he laughed at something his friend had said. Dressed in a thick jumper and jeans and not his regular black Hogwarts robes, he looked incredibly handsome.

Lara sucked in a sharp breath and straightened in the booth, suddenly very aware of her hands. She laced her fingers together, then placed her palms on the table, then grabbed the sleeves of her jumper; Merlin, what did she normally do with her hands—

"Here you go." Fred appeared again, placing a butterbeer in front of Lara. "Why are you jumping around like a nervous rabbit?"

"I—it's nothing—"

But Fred was already looking around the pub, searching for the source of Lara's nervousness. When he spotted David sat with his friends, a grin spread across his freckled face. "Ah, I see," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Dashing Dave, huh?"

"Well…" Lara gulped thickly. "I suppose it's better than Dreary Dave…that's what Erin and Mandy call him."

Fred bit his lip as if he was trying desperately not to laugh. "That's—that's awful…"

"I know you want to laugh."

"No, no," a few giggles burst from his lips. "No, I don't want to— _anyway_. I'm going to get his attention."

"His _attention_? How the hell—"

Fred dug into his pocket and produced a small box that looked suspiciously like a firecracker. Lara reached over to grab it from him, her eyes wide with terror, but with a simple flick of his thumb the box flew into the air. Lara yelped and pushed herself into the seat, her fingers gripping onto the side of the table, just as there was a loud explosion above her head. Looking up, Lara saw the box had turned into a firework, which glittered bubble-gum pink above her head in the shape of a heart.

A few people let out gasps and shrieks, most of the girls sighed admiringly. Blushing the colour of a tomato, Lara brought a hand to the side of her face to hide behind it, throwing her hair over her shoulder for extra protection. _"Fred,"_ she whispered, mortified. "You bloody idiot—"

"He's looking," Fred sang brightly, almost bouncing up and down in his seat. "He doesn't look happy."

"I can't even look."

"The other girls seem to think I'm terribly romantic."

"If that's true, the girls of Hogwarts are absolutely mad."

"Or maybe you don't appreciate my brilliance."

Lara giggled and peeked at him from behind her fingers. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know you're just trying to help."

"Don't worry about it. I forget that other people aren't as mental as I am," Fred grinned widely. "Sorry if I scared you."

"I'll get over it," Lara said, biting her lip and taking her hand away from her face. "It was actually rather sweet."

"I know. I'm a gentleman."

Lara smiled and chanced a look towards David. He was talking to his friends again, his eyebrows slightly pinched. She must have stared a little too long because he peered over, catching her eye. Her heart thudding in her chest, Lara gave him a small smile and turned her attention back to Fred.

"You're blushing," Fred whispered, leaning forward onto the table.

"I always blush," muttered Lara irritably.

"Not like that. You look like a fire truck with a blonde wig."

"I do not."

Fred sniggered and leaned forward even more. "I'm going to touch your hand," he said barely moving his lips. "Because Brentford is staring and he'll see."

Sure enough, Fred reached out and placed his hand on top of Lara's. She automatically laced her fingers with his, mostly to anchor herself to the moment, to clear her muddled brain. It had been a very strange day; in fact, it had been a very strange three months. She felt like everything was changing and yet staying the same, like something was slipping through her fingers and she couldn't figure out what.

But Fred's smile was bright. His laughter and jokes were infectious. He never seemed to lose that mischievous glint in his eyes. And he made everything seem so simple. It was like he saved people from themselves, from their slumps and their self-loathing. He just came along, all grins and winks, and he made everything seem lighter.

After a long moment, Lara pulled her hand away and put her chin into her palm. Fred grinned teasingly, still bent forward, and they talked about the Quidditch League and the likelihood of mermaids breeding with centaurs and what kind of woman would go for Filch. By the time Fred declared that no woman deserved that kind of life, it was time for the students to head back to the castle.

"Walter _never_ taught you Quidditch?" Fred asked, horrified, as they walked up the pathway.

"Well, he wanted to, but I said no."

" _Why_?"

"Because the only position I'd be good at would be beater," she grinned. "And we've already got those."

"I reckon you'd be a decent seeker."

"And go up against Harry Potter?"

"Chaser, then," snorted Fred. "Although, after that incident in the Great Hall, maybe not."

"You caught me off guard!"

"Oh, yeah, 'cause that _never_ happens in Quidditch. When bludgers are coming left, right and centre, you can totally tell when one is going to knock you off your broom so you can fall a hundred feet—"

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit."

"Don't be a Ravenclaw." Fred grinned playfully. "What makes you think you'd be a good beater, anyway?"

"Look at these muscles," Lara lifted her arm up and then realised she had a thick coat on. "Oh, damn. Never mind. You can't see them right now, but they're there."

"I've known you for six years—never seen muscles."

"I don't think anything before this year counts, Fred—"

"Okay, so I've known you three months," he corrected. "Still—no muscles."

"That's just rude." Lara scoffed and Fred raised his eyebrows challengingly. "Let me show you—stay still—okay, when I say go, jump on my back."

" _What_?"

"Jump on my back," Lara repeated, stripping off her coat and throwing it to the snow-covered floor. They were two of the last students to head back to the castle, so there wasn't many people behind them, just a few couples wrapped up in each other and a drunken teacher here and there. "Right, I'm ready. Let's do it."

"I—are you _kidding_? Absolutely not—"

"Don't be a baby."

"I'll _crush_ you. I'm literally double your body weight and triple your height—"

"I'm offended you didn't say that the other way around," Lara gave him a flat look. "I'm not _that_ short."

"You're pretty teeny."

"Get on my back."

"No."

" _Fred_."

She then tackled him in the stomach, grabbing his leg and trying to pull it onto her back. Fred grunted and whacked her on the head a couple of times, muttering, "I'll squish you—I'll literally squish you like an icky bug—blood and guts _everywhere_ —"

"How heavy do you think you are?"

"I am _trim_ , thank you very much! I'm worried about _your_ strength—"

"I'll be fine," she muttered as Fred squeaked anxiously, his right leg wrapping around Lara's hip. "Right, jump."

Fred seemed to realise that she was going to be stubborn about this. With a sigh, he clasped his hands on her shoulders tightly, and said, "Three…two…one…"

He leapt into the air and landed heavily on her back. For one glorious, perfect second, Lara thought she'd won this particular argument…and then she began to tumble backwards. "Fred!" she squealed as she realised she'd lost her footing. "Bugger— _bugger_ —"

They fell back and to the side, Lara half on top of Fred and Fred half in a bush. Lara cringed and pushed herself into sitting position, turning to Fred worriedly. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Fred, I'm so _sorry_ —"

However, Fred didn't look like he was hurt at all. In fact, he was laughing so wildly his whole body was shaking and his face was turning red. A smile slowly stretched across Lara's face at his loud howls.

"Are you hurt?" Lara asked laughingly. "Bleeding? Anything broken?"

"No, no, I-I'm fine!" he yowled cheerfully. "I _knew_ that was going to happen—Merlin, it was like slow _motion_ —"

"I think I overestimated my abilities."

"Definitely not beater material," Fred sat up, twigs snapping under his palms and leaves stuck in his hair and clothes. He looked like the definition of _dragged through a hedge backwards_. "Are _you_ alright?"

"Eh, well…"

"What's happened?"

"I think I've twisted my ankle," Lara smiled sheepishly. "I stupidly tried to save myself and my bottom half moved slower than my top."

Fred shook his head slowly. "This is why we shouldn't have been left alone."

"I feel like we're bad influences on each other," snorted Lara. "My ankle hurts."

"Dear Merlin," Fred mumbled and scrubbed his hands through his hair, knocking out the leaves and dirt. Getting to his feet, he also brushed down his jumper before reaching down for Lara. "Let's get you to the hospital wing."

Lara grinned as she grabbed his outstretched hands, allowing him to lift her to her feet. Once she was stable, he grabbed her coat from the floor and then wrapped his arm around her waist, taking most of her weight as she hopped up the pathway.

"What a way to end a fake date," Lara joked.

Fred chuckled and said, "Certainly one of the most memorable."

"Every encounter with me is memorable."

"Yeah." He smiled that brilliant smile of his. "I think I'm starting to realise that."

* * *

 _Well, here it is! One of my favourite chapters, I have to say (and based on a true story...sort of, but **anyway** ). Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter, I got some lovely ones that really made me smile. You guys are the best._

 _I don't know what the next chapter is called yet, so I don't have a teaser this time, oops! HOWEVER, the first task will happen, so I guess that's kind of a teaser? Maybe? Also Walter (Lara's brother) makes another appearance, if you happen to like him._

 _PS. As for the question from Mrs Shawn ;well, I don't want to give too much away, but I think it's clear from this chapter Fred is starting to get a little more than friendly feelings? So we'll see how he reacts if David and Lara get closer..._


	9. Betting on death would be immoral

**...**

 **Chapter 9.**

 ** _Betting on death would be immoral_**

It was dark by the time Lara and Fred got back to the castle, which meant that Madam Pomfrey was actually off duty. Fred steadied Lara against a wall and ran off down the hallway, returning around fifteen minutes later with an harassed looking matron. After hearing Lara's story (and giving her a disapproving scowl), Pomfrey ushered Lara to a bed, declared her ankle to be sprained and went to her cabinet to get some medicine.

Two potions later—one for the pain, the other for swelling—Lara found herself hopping up the magical staircase with Fred's help, both of them howling with laughter all the way as they tripped over. At one point Fred got caught in a trick step and it took ten minutes and a firework to get him out. By the time they got to the common room, Lara was breathless and aching all over, and stumbled through the portrait hole with Fred.

"Get a room!"

Lara glanced over at the fire, where some of the sixth and seventh year Gryffindor's had gathered. For a moment she didn't understand what the comment meant, but then she realised; she and Fred were totally wrapped up in one another, arms clinging to body parts and Fred's head was partially buried in her neck from the effort of getting her up so many stairs, his panting breath washing against her skin.

"Shut the hell up," Lara tried to sound stern, but she was still laughing. "You lot are the reason we're in this mess!"

"I _knew_ my plan would work—"

"She sprained her ankle," Fred interrupted Erin's cheering. "I've spent the past hour in the hospital wing and getting her up the stairs."

"How did you _sprain_ you're ankle?" gasped Angelina as Lara hobbled over to the couch, Fred holding onto her waist.

"Eh, well—"

"She tried to give me a piggy back," Fred grinned amusedly and sat on the coffee table. "And failed miserably."

"I thought I was beater material."

"You bloody idiot," George laughed as he got up and allowed Lara to have his seat. He perched onto the arm of the couch, bringing Lara into a quick and tight side-hug. "He's three times the size of you."

"In height or weight?"

"Both."

Lara sent Fred a smug look, to which he rolled his eyes.

"You actually sprained your ankle on your first date," Erin said slowly, as if she couldn't quite grasp the idea. "Like, _actually_?"

"Didn't you hear the piggy back story?" snorted Lee.

"I heard, I just—I can't quite wrap my head around it."

"Is it hurting?" Alicia asked sympathetically.

"Not really. Pomfrey gave me some pain potion—"

"On the _first date_."

"Did she say when it would be fixed?"

"By Monday. She gave me a slow acting one 'cause the fast acting one can knock you out—"

" _The first date_ —"

"It wasn't even a date," Lara sighed irritably, snapping her eyes to her friend. " _You_ lot just abandoned us."

"And you were utterly hopeless at being smart about it," Fred said supportively. "You'd all be crap Slytherin's. Not a cunning bone in your body."

"I thought we were rather sly, actually," muttered Lee.

Fred made a noise that sounded like a boiled kettle. "That's like calling Ron cheery."

"He's going through a rough time," Angelina admonished, kicking Fred in the shin. "Don't be awful."

"He's being a git," George said. "Don't stick up for him. He needs to make up with Harry."

"They're like an old married couple that don't know what to do without each other," Fred sighed. "I swear it would be easier for mum and dad to be separated than this. At least they'd be relatively logical about it."

"While Ron and Harry are just being grumpy and unstable," George's lips thinned before he added, "Poor Hermione. I don't know how she puts up with them."

"If her S.P.E.W. speeches were anything to go by, I think she'll be just fine," grumbled Angelina, sharing an amused look with Alicia.

"Maybe we need to give them a push—"

Erin's inspirational lecture was cut off by the arrival of Stan, who walked nosily into the area and flopped onto the floor like a starfish. He had a dreamy expression on his face and let out a long, absent-minded sigh.

"Good date, Stan?" Lara smirked.

" _Great_ date." Stan replied distractedly. "You?"

"Didn't have one, mate."

"But Erin—"

"Said _nothing_!" Erin squeaked, reaching out to kick Stan in the foot. " _Shut the hell up_."

"Bloody friends," Lara grunted as Erin and Stan began to bicker incessantly. "Who needs them?"

* * *

On the day of the First Task, the atmosphere of the school was one of tense excitement. Lessons were to stop at midday to give the students time to head to theviewing areas, but time still dragged. Lara would swear hours had passed—she would bet good money on it—only for mere minutes to have gone by when she asked Omar the time. By first break, he handed over his watch to her and said, "Here, have it before I gag you."

She attached the silver watch to her wrist, though it was far too big and kept slipping down her arm. Still she watched the seconds tick by, waiting and waiting until it got to twelve and they were free to leave…

" _Oh my God_ , turn twelve already," hissed Erin, who was sat beside Lara and also staring at the watch. "Turn twelve, turn twelve, _turn twelve_ —"

"Have you ever heard the expression a watched kettle never boils?" Omar said airily.

"Ever heard the expression shut the hell up?" Amanda snapped back. "What time is it?"

"Quarter to."

"My nerves can't take this," Stan said, placing his quill onto the table and fanning his face with his hand. "I'm about to pass out. What if someone _dies_?"

"They're not going to die."

"In all fairness, it's a possibility," Omar argued against Erin's outcry. "I mean, these tasks are made to be dangerous, right? So there's always a chance that something morbid could happen—"

"I'm worried for Harry," Lara murmured; _three, two, one—_ it was now twelve minutes to twelve. "He's just a kid. He won't know enough spells."

"Dumbledore and McGonagall will have helped him, right?" Erin whispered. "I mean, surely."

"Dumbledore can't, he's an impartial judge," Stan pointed out. "Maybe McGonagall, though."

"Or Dumbledore could've asked someone else to help on his behalf," Amanda said. "Like Moody or Snape."

"Screw Snape," mumbled Lara out of habit.

"Moody, then," Omar said with an amused smile. "They can't just leave him to figure it out. He's far too young."

Lara nodded in agreement; it was now ten to.

"Since none of you are going to pay this lesson _any_ attention," Flitwick cried from the front of the classroom, making the seventh years look up guiltily. "You can all pack up and leave. Get some good seats at the arena."

"Arena?" someone yelped as everyone hurried to pack their things. "Do you know what the task is, Sir?"

"Of course I do," Flitwick replied as if he hadn't denied knowing anything for the past month. "Now go. You'll want to get good seats, trust me."

The students didn't need to be told twice. Lara had barely put her things into her backpack before she was running off with her friends, almost tripping over her clumsy feet and dropping her bag. Dumbledore had announced at breakfast that the students should head towards the Forbidden Forest, where prefects would be waiting to guide the other students to the viewing area. As Lara and her friends were early, they just followed a pathway that had been paved out for them by lanterns on the ground.

They walked so far that both the castle and the Black Lake were out of view. Lara was so busy looking over her shoulder, trying to figure out how far away from the castle they were going, that she didn't notice the enclosure until her friends gasped in shock. Whipping her head around, Lara saw a large tent ahead of her, at least a hundred feet high and just as wide. The sheer size of it momentarily dazzled the group of friends and they stopped walking to stare at it.

"This way, this way!" a voice called out. Over by the tent there was a tall, bearded wizard dressed in Ministry robes. "Around the tent, around the tent—this is for the Champions…"

They were ushered around the giant tent, only to be met with the sight of a gigantic dragon enclosure. It reminded Lara of a Quidditch Stadium; oval in shape with thousands and thousands of seats. Instead of a pitch and golden hoops, however, there were rocks and stone, providing hiding places for both the Champions and the dragons.

"Holy _crap_. They're battling _dragons_ ," Amanda hissed, sounding rather horrified. "DRAGONS."

"That's awful," muttered Lara. "That will be really stressful for the dragons. They don't naturally attack humans, you know. Only when their herd or their eggs are threatened."

"Now you're worried for the _dragons_?" Stan said, sounding astounded. "What about Harry and the others?"

"Well…I mean, I'm worried about them, too, but—"

"Just not as much," Erin smiled, reaching to wrap an arm around Lara's shoulders. "You're so wonderfully weird."

Lara snorted lightly as they entered the enclosure and were directed to some seats. They were put right at the front near the VIP box, which made Amanda a little jittery ("Do we have to be so _close_? They breathe _fire_ , for Merlin's sake!"), but the others were absolutely delighted. Lara was just settling down, pulling on her gloves and scarf, when someone called out;

" _Lara_!"

Her neck clicked from how fast she looked up. Bounding down the stairs from the VIP box was none other than Walter, slogan t-shirt and rainbow glasses and all. He waved exuberantly at his sister, which snapped Lara out of her daze. She scrambled to her feet, tripped over three times, and just about managed to meet him halfway.

" _Walter_!" she squealed happily as he brought her into a bone-crushing hug. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm overseeing the dragons with Charlie," he replied, his voice muffled by her shoulder against his mouth. "I came last night with them."

"Are the dragons alright?"

"The _dragons_?" Walter repeated with a laugh, setting his sister back onto her feet. "I don't think I've ever been asked that before."

"I mean, they'll be stressed, right? They don't attack naturally—"

"They're hiding their eggs, so the dragons will think the champions are after them and attack."

"That's horrid," Lara whispered in disgust. "What if the real eggs get damaged?"

"Well, eh…"

"You haven't thought about it, have you?"

Walter looked slightly guilty. "They're really well taken care of away from this," he shrugged. "They're all from Romania, from the reserve Charlie works on…he doesn't seem to think it's cruel…"

Lara huffed, but decided to drop the subject. She knew not everyone felt the same way she did about protecting animals, even people who had chosen to work with them. Charlie, however, was someone Lara greatly respected, and if he thought this whole charade was okay…well, she figured it would be alright.

"Are you sitting with us?" Lara asked.

"You mean am I sitting with you and your fun friends or the snotty Ministry lot?" Walter grinned sardonically. "I'll take you and your friends, please and thank you."

She sniggered and pulled him over to the seats, stepping aside for a moment to allow her friends to greet him. Once they'd all hugged and exchanged pleasantries, the group sat down and talked excitedly about the task as the rest of the enclosure steadily filled up with students. Lara and Walter were in the middle of making some very elaborate bets when two hands landed heavily on Lara's shoulders.

" _Bugger_." She gasped in surprise, turning to stare wide-eyed at the assailant. "I should've known it was you."

Fred grinned widely at her. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Only you would try to make me crap my pants."

"Lovely visual."

"You're thinking about my arse?"

"Shut up." Fred rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

"Or what?"

"I'll stuff this hat in your mouth."

"You wouldn't dare, Freddy."

"I'm George."

"You're Fred," Lara replied, though a little bit of doubt crept in. Eyeing the twin suspiciously, she tried to figure out exactly which one it was. She still couldn't find any physical differences between them…but she had a feeling. "Definitely Fred. _That's_ George."

Said boy appeared at his twin's side, ruffling Lara's hair with his gloved hand. "Alright, Culpepper? How's the ankle?"

"Ankle?" Walter questioned, his eyebrows knitting together.

"Piggy back accident—I forgot to put it in my letter," Lara waved off her brother's concern. "It's good. Fully healed now, I think. So dragons, huh?"

"I know, mental, isn't it?" Fred's brown eyes widened slightly. "I suddenly feel a little bad about my bets."

"You mean the possible deaths—"

"Shhhh." Fred hissed. "We decided betting on death would be immoral, remember?"

George gave him an amused look. "Yeah, sure."

"Anyway." Fred turned to Walter with an overly-innocent smile. "Is Charlie here, too?"

"VIP box," answered Walter with a nod. "He has to stay up there 'cause he's Head Dragon Tamer. If anything goes wrong, he's the first point of call."

"Charlie's here?" Amanda's voice chirped from down the row. "Now? As in, _right_ now?" she began to look around as if he would appear from thin air.

"She fancies him," Erin stage-whispered to the twins. "It's been a thing for a while now."

"Ewww," the twins groaned together, looking thoroughly grossed out.

"Fancied you two, as well, at one point," Stan said distractedly. "Until Lara called dibs."

"On _Fred_ ," George said and glanced appreciatively towards Amanda. "I am most definitely unspoken for."

Lara could feel her face and neck heating up. She hated her friends teasing her about Fred anyway, but now Walter was giving her a more-than-curious look and it was twice as worse. "I did _not_ call dibs," she muttered bitterly.

"We've been looking for you everywhere!" Alicia's voice announced the arrival of her, Angelina and Lee. She walked over and smacked both twins on the back of the head. "Why did you run away?"

" _Ouch_." Fred yelped and rubbed the spot Alicia had hit. "Got excited when we realised it was dragons."

"Charlie's up there," George nodded his head to the VIP box. "Thought we'd be able to sit with him."

Alicia rolled her eyes and began to settle down on the empty seats. "A little warning would have been nice. I thought you were in trouble or something."

"Aw, she was worried about us," George cooed and went over to hug her, though Alicia tried—and failed—to push him away. "I knew you loved us really."

"DRAGON— _DRAGON_!" Omar suddenly yelled, and the whole crowd scrambled to look into the enclosure.

Lara stood and stared down at the rocky ground. From the back of the arena, a silvery-blue dragon was floating out of the doors, skirting over the rocks towards where her precious eggs lay in a thick nest. She crouched down in front of the nest, her bright eyes scanning the crowd warningly, daring them to try and touch her developing babies. Judging by the terrified looks on people's faces, she had nothing to worry about.

From a gap at the back of the arenas fence, a tall, bronze-haired figure emerged. The whole place erupted into applause as Cedric Diggory walked out, gripping his wand in his right hand and carefully peering around for any sign of the dragon. The Swedish Short-Snout had already spotted him; she snarled, her claws digging into the stone beneath her feet. Cedric froze, staring up at the creature, taking in its enormous form…and then he accidently tripped over a small rock, and the dragon let out a roar before charging towards him.

Erin squealed and covered her mouth with her hands, just as Cedric dived behind a rock, narrowly avoiding a stream of brilliant blue fire.

"Oooh, narrow miss there, very narrow…" the commentator said loudly, letting out a small whistling sound.

Cedric pushed himself up and took off running towards the dragons nest. The Swedish Short-Snout followed his every move, breathing streams and streams of fire towards the sixth year. Cedric didn't stop, not until he was around twenty feet away from the nest, where he paused behind a large rock and took a deep breath. The crowd was screaming and gasping, several girls looked close to tears as they held onto each other nervously. Lara's heart pounded in her throat, her mouth dry from the adrenaline pulsing through her veins—

Cedric popped out from behind the rocks, pointed his wand at a stone near the dragon and an orange spark shot out of it. The stone turned into a Golden Labrador, racing off towards the gap in the enclosure Cedric had appeared from ten minutes before. Confused by the second intruder, the dragon turned, letting out an angered roar, and took off after the dog.

Not hesitating for a second, Cedric ran towards the nest at full speed, arms pumping, long legs pouncing over the stone. He was nearly there, seconds away from getting the egg injury-free…the dragon glanced over her shoulder…saw Cedric in the distance near her eggs, and let out a sharp yelp. Cedric barely had time to realise he was in danger before a blue flame was hurdling towards him.

The crowd screamed as Cedric cast a protection spell around himself. However, it wasn't strong enough and the flame hit him in the side. Cedric's groan could be heard above the noise of the stadium…just as he grabbed the egg, lifting it above his head.

Lara jumped to her feet, yelling and applauding—glad that her schoolmate was _alive._ Burned and singed beyond recognition, but alive, and Madam Pomfrey would have him fixed in no time. A group of Dragon Tamers rushed onto the scene to subdue the Swedish Short-Snout; some cast calming spells, another ran off to collect her eggs and hand them to her. Almost as soon as the eggs were in her reach, the dragon relaxed and allowed herself to be walked back through the doors.

"Merlin." Lara breathed as Cedric was pulled aside to get his scores. " _Merlin_."

"I know, right?" Walter grinned at her side. "And that's the best dragon of the lot."

"No way."

Walter nodded. "I'll have to go down when the Fireball comes out—she's third—and help subdue it. And we need all hands on deck for the Horntail…"

"Miss Delacour, if you please!" the commentator's voice shouted out, and the crowd broke into applause again, the most enthusiastic being teenage boys.

"Veela." Lara said, grabbing Walter on the arm with a grin. "She's part-veela, don't faint…"

A swift-looking green dragon had been released into the enclosure and was pacing up and down in front of its nest, her emerald eyes darting around for any sign of danger. Lara barely had time to look at the creature before a silvery blonde head walked out from the gap, head held high and a determined expression. Fleur took only a second to look at the dragon before she was off, hiding behind a rock while she took several deep breaths.

For a second, Lara wondered if Fleur was ever going to move again…and then with a nod and some whispered words, Fleur stepped out of her hiding place in full view of the dragon. Just as she pointed her wand, the dragon whined and blew a spurt of green fire towards her. Fleur yelped and dived back behind the rock.

"Oh I'm not sure that was wise!" yelled the commentator.

Taking a few moments to gather herself, Fleur appeared again and this time she was ready; a pink jet of light left her wand and shot towards the dragon, where the light swirled around the dragons head like an angry bee. The dragons eyes widened slightly, and she looked _furious_ …until her head lolled to the side, she stumbled to the right slightly, and finally began to sink to the ground in a sleepy haze.

Some of the crowd let out disbelieving giggles. With a radiant smile, Fleur pranced towards the nest, clearly confident that she'd finished the challenge…the sleepy dragon suddenly let out a rumbling snore. When it breathed out, a small ball of fire came with it—and caught the edge of Fleur's skirt.

The French girl leapt into the air in shock. The crowd gasped and a few boys looked like they were about to throw themselves into the enclosure to help her. Then, with an almost annoyed huff, Fleur put out the fire with her wand. The corner of her skirt charred and black, Fleur rushed over to the nest and grabbed the egg.

The Welsh Green was easily swept off through the doors by the Dragon Tamers along with her eggs. Bidding a quick goodbye, Walter went to join his co-workers in preparation for the next dragon, a giant scarlet creature with a fringe of golden spikes around its stub-snouted face. Lara cringed at the aggressive look in the dragon's eye as Viktor Krum appeared, as emotionless and surly as ever.

He eyed the dragon as if it was simply another Quidditch opponent. The Chinese Fireball hissed and crouched down, ready to attack. Without a pause, Viktor began to fire spells towards the dragon. The crowd seemed more confused than anything, though they still made noises of support. When the dragon roared and breathed a torrent of fire, a group of girls let out horrified, ear splitting screams.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" yelled Erin, throwing a glare towards them. "Contain yourselves!"

Krum leapt out from behind the rock and shot another spell towards the dragon—this one hit the creature in the eye. Letting out an agonised shriek, the dragon began to stamp around the arena, befuddled and confused from the pain. Lara let out an appalled gasp as the creature's large foot landed on the nest, crushing at least three eggs underneath her claws.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," Lara snapped. "I _knew_ that would happen—I hope the dragon eats him!"

" _Lara_!" scolded Amanda, as Stan sniggered into his hand.

Lara's wish didn't to come true; Viktor rushed over to the nest and grabbed the golden egg, holding it up in the air. Stubborn and slightly nettled, Lara refused to clap and glared at the Dragon Tamers as they fought to put the Chinese Fireball through the doors.

"Don't look so sour," a voice said in Lara's ear.

"I don't see why they couldn't use fake eggs, is all," Lara huffed, glancing at Fred as he rested his chin upon her shoulder. "Plus, a Conjunctivitis Curse is pretty mean."

"It's a dragon that tried to kill him with fire."

"Still."

Fred snickered and opened his mouth to reply—

"And now, Mr Potter!"

While Fred and Lara bickered, the final dragon had been put into the arena. Lara's eyed widened in unbounded horror; despite Walter's warning about it being the worst one, it looked more vicious than Lara expected. Large with black, shiny scales and yellow eyes, it looked like some sort of poisonous lizard, ready to kill and destroy anything in sight. The dragon's whole body was covered in thick, protruding spikes that looked like they could easily impale a human…

Especially a fourteen-year-old boy.

Harry Potter walked out of the gap, messy-haired and wearing his infamous round glasses. The dragon crouched low over her eggs, her eyes fixed on Harry, her tail swishing and leaving large marks in the stone ground. Harry pointed his wand in the air and said something…but nothing happened.

Lara's stomach dropped. Had he tried to cast a charm? A hex? Had his spell not worked?

Most of the crowd tensed and held their breath, but others laughed cruelly, as if Harry failing was a source of great amusement.

"Oh, shut up!" George yelled out from behind Lara, glaring at the bullies. "Like you lot could do any better—"

"Probably would have ran off screaming, the lot of you…" Fred agreed, just as something went zooming towards Harry.

It was his broom, his Firebolt. Lara began to jump up and down, screaming and whooping with delight; his spell _had_ worked. Fred and George began to dance and stick their tongues out at the people who had laughed. Erin grabbed Lara's arm, her eyes wide, her jaw slack…

Harry flew into the air, further and further away until he was just a dot in the air. He paused, looked down, and took a deep breath. Lara unconsciously held her breath, waiting, wondering what he was going to do next—Harry dived down. The crowd gasped and shrieked; the dragon began to follow him. Just as the dragon took a deep breath, ready to burn Harry to a crisp, the Gryffindor seeker swerved. The fire hit the side of the arena, easily missing Harry's small form.

"Great Scott, he can fly!" yelled the commentator. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"

Higher and higher Harry went, the dragon on the ground watching, spinning and spinning as if sat on a merry-go-round. Fire shot out of the dragons mouth—the crowd screamed and several people cried Harry's name—but he avoided the fire, though he had a large rip in his robe from the dragon's tail. Still, he was alive, and he was teasing the dragon, daring her to come after him.

"Only Harry would _want_ the dragon to go after him!" Lee laughed brightly, sounded both awed and befuddled.

The dragon suddenly roared, high and shrieking, and her long black wings spread. Harry moved to fast that Lara couldn't make sense of what was happening. In a blur of movement, Harry was flying over the nest, grabbing something and then he was soaring above the crowd, a golden egg shimmering from underneath his uninjured arm.

"HE'S GOT IT! HE'S GOT IT!" cried the twins excitedly.

"GO HARRY!" Erin screamed, letting out a relieved laugh. "WOOOOOOOOO!"

The commentator was saying something else, but Lara couldn't hear over the celebrations of her friends. Erin and Stan were hugging her, bouncing up and down, and Amanda reached over to shake Lara's arm. Omar seemed in a state of shock and as Stan tried to rouse his friend, Fred grabbed Lara's shoulders and squeezed, using them as a board to spring himself upwards. George reached down to repeatedly ruffle Lara's hair until it was static and knotted across her face.

Harry disappeared to get his wound cleaned up and returned only to get his scores. Fred, George and Lee were already planning a party. When the crowd were dismissed, they rushed off together to get everything sorted. Angelina rolled her eyes after them and jumped over the seats with Alicia, joining the seventh years as they headed back to the castle.

"Lara— _Lara_!" a voice shouted as Lara talked with Angelina about the task. "Wait up!"

Walter appeared and brought his sister into a hug. "Leaving without saying goodbye?"

"I wasn't allowed to hang around," she snorted, thumping his back. Her friends stepped aside to let the siblings say farewell. "I'll send letters about the ball and the other tasks, yeah?"

"Definitely," Walter pulled away and grinned down at her. "So…"

"So?"

"Fred Weasley, huh?"

"Not you, too!"

"What? You seemed pretty chummy up there, and what was that thing about you calling dibs…"

"I—we—well—"

"You snogged?"

"Well—yeah." Lara flushed; this was _not_ something she wanted to talk to her older brother about. "A while ago now, before school even started. He's…helping me out with something and we're friends—and that's _it_. _Friends._ "

"Sure."

"Don't say it like that," she huffed, rolling her eyes. "I swear, okay. We're just friends."

"Sure."

"Stop saying that."

"I have to tell Charlie," Walter looked positively delighted as he glanced around for his best friend. "He'll piss his pants— _his_ brother and _my_ sister—this is the stuff of dreams…"

"Don't you _dare_ —"

"Sorry, can't hear you! See you later!" he began to run away, waving over his shoulder. "Love you, don't get into too much trouble! Keep the snogging to a minimum—"

And then he was gone, disappearing in the crowd.

Lara's lips thinned, and she thought about running after him and hexing him into oblivion. Before she could take a step forward, an arm landed on her shoulders. "Ignore him; snogging should be kept at an absolute _maximum_ ," Erin grinned.

"I swear to Merlin—"

"Before you start threatening bodily harm," Omar interrupted brightly. "Can we start heading back? I don't want to be late for the party."

Erin tugged Lara back towards the castle and all Lara could do was huff and roll her eyes.

At least _she_ knew she didn't fancy Fred Weasley. He was just a friend. A loyal, slightly mad, incredibly funny friend...who, you know, _just so happened_ to be rather good-looking...

* * *

 _And the first task is complete! Hope you guys enjoyed it even though some of the chapter was taken from the book. I actually had a blast writing it because I've always wondered what happened in the dragon enclosure that Harry couldn't see._

 _Thanks for the reviews, alerts and favourites! Over 100 follows on the 8th chapter?! I'm honestly amazed._

 _Next chapter the Yule Ball is announced, bringing jealously with it..._


	10. Who was going to ask me?

**…..**

 **Chapter 10.**

 **Who was going to ask me?**

 _December._

On the 1st of December, the seventh year N.E.W.T.S students found themselves in Charms class, trying to cast a non-verbal Levicorpus spell. Almost everyone had been unsuccessful; Peregrine Derrick managed to do it for a couple of seconds with an apple, but Amanda turned out to be the best. After triumphantly holding a book in the air for a full thirty seconds, she moved onto heavier things—a chair, a table, Flitwick's desk. Then, declaring that these weren't 'challenging enough', she turned to Lara.

"No." Lara said instantly. "Absolutely not."

"Oh, come on," Amanda grinned widely. "Let me _try_."

"No—"

"You're stunting my emotional and spiritual growth."

"I don't care if I'm stunting your bloody growth. You're not touching me."

Stan easily reached out and pulled Lara to her feet. Squeaking like a scared guinea pig, Lara tried to jump out of the way—but a beam of light hit her in the stomach and she lifted at least two foot in the air. Her friends clapped and Amanda beamed proudly.

"Wonderful Miss Chambers, just wonderful," Flitwick squeaked, staring at Lara's hovering form as if she was merely a table. "Stunning bit of non-verbal magic!"

Amanda flushed radiantly under Flitwick's praise. Lara, once Flitwick had made his way back to his desk, gave her the finger.

"Now, I have something to announce, so if you could all take your seats—Newton, stop trying to levitate your quill up Chan's nose, it's not going to happen. Alas— _Alas_ put the frog _down_ —thank you." Flitwick looked utterly joyful as he stood on his desk, the seventh years staring up at him expectantly. "Right, now; no doubt you all know by now, but the Yule Ball is just around the corner."

Erin gasped excitedly and grabbed Lara's arm. Omar, who was trying to balance his wand on his upper lip, abruptly sprang into sitting position to give Flitwick his full attention. "Yes, yes, it's all very exciting. From what I've heard, the theme is a sort of Winter Wonderland—I wasn't supposed to say that. _Anyway_ , the ball's only for fourth years and up, though you may invite the younger students if you so wish."

Stan's nose scrunched. "Please don't, though. It would be a bit weird."

"Yes, well." The Professor continued with an amused smile as the class giggled. "Moving on. Dress robes have to be worn—don't _groan_ , dress robes are traditional, and there's a few funky ones you can get now. _No trainers_. I've been told to reign you all in and impress upon you that we expect high standards of behaviour from all of our students…however, I know which band is playing, and honestly I intend to have some fun myself, so I can't very well be a hypocrite, can I?"

"What band is it, Sir?" Amanda asked quickly.

"Ah, I can't say," he replied, though his face was alight with elation. "So I want you all to have fun—but don't go _wild_ ," he glared at Glenn Chan and his friends, who were whispering hurriedly to each other and sniggering.

The bell rang and the class stood, grabbing their bags and books. "I've been _waiting_ for this!" Erin beamed as they headed out the classroom. "I felt like it wasn't official until it was announced—oh God, what are we going to _wear_?"

"I've already been looking through _Witch Weekly_ catalogues," grinned Amanda. "Purple is the in colour at the minute, so I'm thinking something plum and sparkly—"

"Are you going to be talking about this for the next three weeks?" Omar groaned.

"We have to listen to your Quidditch talk all the time," Erin snapped heatedly, glaring over her shoulder. "You can survive three weeks of this, Shafiq."

Omar smirked at the use of his surname. "Alright, bossy."

"I'm going to ask Adela," Stan said eagerly. "Should I get her something while I ask?"

"A flower," said Amanda. "She'll love it."

"You lot are mad," Lara smirked, shaking her head. "Anyway, I'm going to the library—"

" _Now_?"

"Yes." Lara laughed at Erin's scandalised tone. "I have to finish an Alchemy essay for tomorrow. I'm only two paragraphs in."

The girls scoffed and the boys chuckled at their vexed expressions. Ignoring them, Lara headed towards the library. She really did have an essay to finish for tomorrow, but in all honesty she was happy to be alone with her thoughts. She'd known about The Yule Ball for months now, way before most of the other students. However, the actual reality of the ball was something else entirely, and (although she would never admit it) her first thought was;

 _Who was going to ask me?_

She wasn't exactly disliked or ugly, but there were so many girls in Hogwarts, not to mention the girls from the foreign schools. Stan, who had been her back-up for Hogsmeade visits and party dates for the past seven years, was now head over heels for Beauxbatons Adela. Omar would ask Erin—Lara had no doubt about that—and Amanda would have no struggle to find a date; she was quite popular with the male population.

Lara's stomach twisted nervously; what if no one asked her? What if she had to go alone? A part of her said it wouldn't be a problem, Erin and Omar would probably let her tag along with them…but it felt sad and silly. She didn't want to be a third-wheel, she wanted to have her _own_ fun.

Sighing wistfully, Lara walked over to an empty library table and set up her scrolls and books. She hoped to have most of the essay done by dinner time, then she could do the conclusion tonight in her dorm. So, pushing thoughts of the Yule Ball to the back of her mind, she focused on her homework. It was easier said than done; even as she wrote about the magical properties of water and air, she could feel her stomach churning with anxiety. Her mind went into overdrive, thinking of herself at the Yule Ball alone, sat in a pretty dress and watching everyone else have fun…

"Hey."

Lara jumped in shock, her embarrassment doubling when she saw David Brentford stood at the table looking down at her. "Hello," Lara gulped and forced a smile onto her blushing face. "What're you doing here?"

"I thought I'd get in an hour of studying before dinner," he answered quietly. "Can I sit?"

"Of course."

He took the seat opposite her, pulling out a few books and scrolls. Lara glanced at him as she went back to her essay; was he a bit jumpy, or was it Lara's imagination? No, he was definitely shaking a little, and his forehead was shiny with sweat—

"Do you like Fred Weasley?" he blurted out suddenly.

A few Ravenclaws sat at a nearby table glanced over. Lara saw Madam Pince look at David warningly from over the top of her glasses.

"Eh…no," Lara murmured, tucking away her hair. "No, I don't. He's just a friend."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty positive."

"What about your date in Hogsmeade?"

"That wasn't a date," sighed Lara, mentally cursing Erin and her schemes. "We went as a group, but Alicia was having a sweet-related breakdown and Erin needed help getting butterbeer—Fred and I were the only sane ones, that day."

Except, you know, she ended up spraining her ankle, but that was neither here nor there.

"Oh, okay," he let out a relieved sigh. "So, eh…since you're single and, you know, don't like anyone…and, conveniently, I'm in the same boat…do you maybe…maybe want to go to the Yule Ball with me?"

Lara blinked, twice, and then said, " _Really_?"

"Yeah." David's face flushed bright red. "We—you know, we get along and…and…"

" _Yes_." Her face stretched into a wide grin. "Yeah, that sounds great."

"Really?"

Lara nodded eagerly.

"Oh, good," his tense shoulders relaxed and he threw her a sheepish smile. "I was absolutely crapping myself—well, I mean…"

"I felt nervous _for_ you," she giggled (oh Merlin, is this what _giddy_ felt like?). "You must've known I'd say yes!"

"How would I know that?"

"I mean, come on," Lara bit her lip under David's teasing grin. "It was obvious that I…you know, that I…"

David's smile widened. "It wasn't _that_ obvious."

"I looked like I had sunburn whenever I was in your presence."

"I honestly didn't realise until this summer when my friend pointed it out," he leaned forward with a shrug. "I thought you just blushed a lot. Then I saw you at Thruston's party and, well, you had a very pretty dress on."

"A man's weakness."

"Obviously." He chuckled. "But I thought…well, I wondered if we'd be a good match, but then you snogged Fred Weasley and…I got jealous."

Lara had to bite back a smile. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

Inside, she was dancing with joy; Fred's plan had _worked_. Outwardly, however, she just nodded solemnly and said, "Well, I thought you were never going to like me back, so I just…"

"I'm glad you did," he replied. "Otherwise I probably would've convinced myself we shouldn't go out."

"Why?"

"Because you're way out of my league."

Lara flushed again; David grinned appreciatively.

"I am not," she said. "You're just trying to butter me up."

"Is it working?"

"A little."

"Then I'm going to continue—"

"If you two _insist_ on continuing this conversation," Madam Pince snapped, marching over to the table and glaring down at the duo. "You will need to _leave_ my library."

"I was leaving anyway," Lara murmured, standing. "I want to get rid of my things before dinner."

David nodded and sent an annoyed glance towards Madam Pince. "Okay, sure. I'll see you around—"

" _QUIET_." Madam Pince hissed, slapping the table repeatedly.

Cringing into her shoulder, Lara grabbed her things and rushed out of the library. She couldn't keep the massive smile off her face as she headed for the Gryffindor common room. A few people glanced over at her suspiciously; Lara didn't care.

To Lara's utter relief, Erin was sat around the fire with a group of other people. Barely paying them attention, Lara hurried over to her best friend and grabbed her arm, making Erin yelp in surprise.

" _Guess what_ ," Lara squealed happily.

"What?"

"Dave asked me to the Yule Ball!" Lara began to automatically jump up and down. "And I said yes!"

Erin's jaw dropped open. "He did _not_."

"He did, in the library just then, I can't believe it—"

" _Oh my God_!" Erin squealed excitedly and leapt to her feet, joining in with Lara's bouncing. "Oh my _God_. This is amazing! Amanda is going to _faint_ —"

"The first one of us to get a date," Angelina grinned, playfully thudding Lara's waist.

"And with her _actual_ crush, too! This only happens in the films, Lara—"

"Have you thought about your dress yet?" Alicia appeared at Lara's side, grabbing her shoulders.

"Not really—"

"Let's go shopping this Saturday!" Angelina beamed energetically. "In Hogsmeade, have a proper girly day—Katie, come with us—"

Katie Bell, who was sat at Angelina's side, nodded. "Okay, sure—"

"I'll get my catalogues!" Erin launched towards the dormitory stairs. "We can look through together—"

With Erin gone, Lara looked around the crowded common room for a familiar head of ginger hair. She spotted it near the windowsill, stood with a group of Gryffindor boys. Dumping her bag onto the floor, Lara bounded over. The boys were also talking about the Yule Ball, though not about outfits.

"What about Patricia Stimpson?" Lee said.

"She cried during O.W.L.S.," responded George. "I have a feeling our personalities won't match."

Trent Angel looked massively apprehensive. "What if—what if they all get asked—"

"It was only announced this-afternoon," Glenn Chan snapped. "Get a hold of yourself."

Lara gently nudged Fred's elbow, making him turn towards her. Sparing a glance at his friends, Fred rolled his eyes and stepped aside with Lara.

"Alright?" he grinned down at her. "Enjoy the library?"

Ignoring his accusatory tone, Lara beamed at him. "I _really_ enjoyed the library, thanks. Dave joined me and asked me to the ball."

"Did he really?"

"Your plan worked!" Lara began to bounce again. "Sorry, sorry, it's a reflex…"

"You look happy."

"I am," she excitedly grabbed his arms and laughed. "Thanks, Fred. Dave said he realised he wanted to ask me out when he got jealous over me and you, so your plan was genius. I owe you."

"No, you don't," he shrugged with a small smile. "I had fun…Hogsmeade was absolutely hilarious…"

"When I sprained my ankle, you mean?"

"Well…"

"Sadist."

He let out a snort, then awkwardly dug his hands into his pockets. "So, eh…"

"Who are you thinking of asking?" Lara asked brightly.

"I—I haven't really thought about it yet…might shock everyone and take a Slytherin."

Lara tried to smile at the joke, but it wasn't delivered with his usual mirth. It sounded forced, awkward, and a slight frown came to her face. "I think you'd look great with a Slytherin," she said. "What about Fleur Delacour?"

Fred shrugged. "Yeah, eh…George is having a bit of a breakdown about finding a date, so I'm gunna help out…"

He went back to his friends, leaving Lara stood in the corner on her own. She stared after him for a moment, confused about his cold attitude, but then Erin appeared with her catalogues and magazines. Alicia grabbed Lara and pulled her over to look at them and staring at the dresses and jewellery and shoes, all Lara felt was excitement.

* * *

Three hours into the 'girly' Hogsmeade trip, Lara and Angelina were the only ones that had found their Yule Ball dresses. Angelina found hers in the first shop; a long velvet dress, sapphire blue in colour, with a small train and a plunging neckline. She looked like a princess in it and when Lara told her this, Angelina decided it was good enough for her and bought it.

In the next shop, Lara found her dress. It was ruby red in colour, with an A-line skirt and a fitted lace bodice. The lace had small glittering diamonds sewn into the fabric that bled into the top of the skirt like a sparkling red waterfall. The dress was twenty-four galleons but, having taken Walter's advice about saving up, Lara could afford it, though she'd have to wear old shoes and jewellery.

The girls ended up in Gladrags Wizardwear, which was always going to be their final shop as it was the most expensive. While Erin, Amanda, Alicia and Katie went to try on some dresses, Lara and Angelina sat in the waiting room together. Lara collapsed back onto the couch and groaned.

"I bloody hate shopping," grumbled Angelina, who was sat next to Lara's tired form, elbows on her knees and chin in her palms.

"I don't mind for an hour or two," Lara sighed. "But we're pushing three and a half now."

"That was painful to even hear."

Lara snorted and glanced over at Angelina. The sixth year was sat with a sullen expression, staring at the floor. Not for the first time today, Lara felt some apprehension for her friend; apart from when she found her dress, Angelina hadn't seemed herself. She was quiet and almost…sad.

"Are you okay, Ang?" Lara asked quietly. "You seem…down."

Angelina pushed herself upright and sighed. "I'm fine."

"You can tell me, you know. I won't judge."

"It's silly. I feel silly even thinking about it."

"I sprained my ankle giving Fred a piggy back," smiled Lara. "I can handle silly."

"I just…" Angelina paused and took a deep breath. "I just have someone in mind that I want to ask me to the ball, but…I don't think he's going to ask."

"Why not? You're hot."

Angelina laughed brightly. "Well, thanks…but I think he just sees me as a mate."

It was clear she didn't want to say _who_ it was, though Lara had a sneaky suspicion it was Lee. They were always flirting and making jokes with each other, though it was all in good-humour. "I'm pretty sure that's not true," Lara said comfortingly. "You're great, Ang. Any guy would be lucky to have you as their date."

"Do you think I should just ask him?"

"Definitely." Lara said…then decided to bite the bullet and ask if it really was Lee—

Erin burst out of her changing room in a pretty yellow dress with floral detail at the top. "I think this is the one!" Erin beamed happily.

"You look amazing, Erin," grinned Angelina, sounding more like herself.

"Yeah, beautiful," Lara agreed, just as Amanda also popped out of her changing unit.

The remaining girls bought their dresses from Gladrags (they had to, given it was the last shop); Amanda bought a fitted purple number that was short at the front and long at the back, Erin the yellow one, Katie a charcoal grey with gold detailing and Alicia a knee-length pink one and matching shoes. Once they were all paid for, the girls decided to head for the Three Broomsticks for a well-deserved butterbeer, their dresses in magically altered bags.

Fred, George and Lee were already there, sat in a booth laughing and joking over a bowl of crisps. Fred leapt up and tried to peek in Katie's bag, Lee began to talk loudly about the robes he'd just bought, and George flew past Lara's shoulder. For a moment, Lara indulged Lee's babbling, nodding along as he talked about his golden waistcoat—

" _Really_?" Amanda's voice echoed through the pub. "Of course I will! Aw, George!"

Lara turned towards the cry of her friend, only to find her hugging George Weasley, who was smiling into her dark hair.

"He's asking her to the ball," Lee offered as explanation. "Said he looks enough like Charlie for her to put up with him."

Erin let out a laugh and Lara turned to try and find Angelina, to tell her to ask Lee before it was too late…but she and Alicia where nowhere to be seen. Fred and Katie were the only ones nearby, still bickering over Fred being allowed to see her dress. As Lara watched, Katie swung her bag and whacked Fred in the butt.

Lee pulled Lara into the booth, and she was so distracted by his talking, so tired from her dress shopping, that she just told herself Angelina and Alicia had headed back to the castle to relax after the long day, and after a few days, in which the students at Hogwarts got more and more rowdy, Lara forgot about Angelina and Alicia's sudden disappearance all together.

On the last Wednesday of term—exactly five days before the Yule Ball—Lara returned from a study session in the library to find a _very_ happy and excitable Erin. The moment Lara stepped through the portrait hole, Erin bounded over, grasping her best friend by the arms with a crazed sort of smile.

"Omar asked me to the ball!" Erin beamed.

"I knew he would," replied Lara, awkwardly dropping her books into her bag to hug her friend. "That's great, Erin!"

"Angelina got a date, too."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"Fred asked her earlier, apparently. Shouted across the common room—it didn't sound very romantic."

Lara expected to feel amusement or even happiness…but instead, something inside of her ached. "Oh, great!" she forced herself to chirp. "Where is she?"

Erin led her over to the couches, where a majority of the upper years had gathered. Angelina was in the corner of the couch with Fred on the arm next to her. They were grinning and laughing together, Fred's arms flailing around as he told some elaborate story. Deciding she would only be an intrusion, Lara sat on the floor beside Lee, who threw her a grin.

"I'm going with Katie," he said, glancing over at the dark-haired girl by the windowsill. "Asked her with a flower."

"You're a real gentleman, Lee," Lara smirked and patted his shoulder.

"I know. You'll be jealous you're not my date by Christmas."

She laughed politely, but something about what he said made her ache again.

 _Jealousy_ ; that seemed to be a common theme this year.

With this in mind, she couldn't help but look over at Fred and Angelina. They were still wrapped up in each other, Angelina throwing her head back with laughter, Fred still telling his story.

Lara had to look away.

* * *

 _Annnnnd chapter 10 is done! I don't know why but I feel like this is a little milestone; double digits and all. And don't worry, we're nowhere near the end haha_

 _thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites guys! I can't wait for you to read the rest, I've done a lot of outlining lately and there are so many chapters I'm excited to share. This story is probably going to end up being a full length novel by the time i'm finished, but I'm just gunna go with it. And sorry for the slightly longer wait, I got the flu last week (in spring, I know, how ridiculous) and it put me behind schedule a little bit._

 _Chapter 11 is the Yule Ball! A lot of dancing, fun and maybe even a kiss..._


	11. Feel the love

**...**

 **Chapter 11.**

 **Feel the love**

" _Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas,_

 _Ring the Hogwarts bell,_

 _Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas,_

 _Cast a Christmas spell,_

 _Have a wondrous wizard Christmas—_ "

"Shut UP!" Fiona screamed and threw a cushion at Alexa Dawn, who was dancing around the dormitory with a scarf of golden tinsel.

Alexa squealed and jumped out the way, just as Lara shot up into sitting position in her bed, half-expecting to see Fiona committing a murder. Bleary-eyed and still mostly asleep, Lara watched as Alexa huffed, picked up the cushion and shot it back.

"It's _Christmas_." Alexa spat aggressively. "A time for love and _HAPPINESS_."

"I'll show you love and happiness—"

"No, no." Allison Sky jumped into action, grabbing Fiona's wand before the other girl could use it. "They'll be no hexes on Christmas morning!"

"You lot have been a pain in my arse for seven years," grumbled Erin, still laid in bed with her eyes closed.

She was, of course, ignored.

"Instead of killing each other, why don't we open presents?" Lara suggested, trying to sound chirpy but her voice was thick with sleep.

Alexa and Fiona glared at each other, but then moved towards their piles of gifts and began to open them. Sharing a long-suffering look with Allison, Lara crawled to the end of her bed, where a pile of presents wrapped in Christmas paper were set up. As she grabbed the first one, Lara felt a small stab of homesickness.

Usually she'd be with Walter, sat under the tree while they ripped open their gifts, Christmas music blaring in the background. Her parents would wake up late, stumbling down the stairs in a haze. Her mam would make a cup of tea for everyone, while her dad would sit in his armchair with the _Daily Prophet_ and indulge Lara when she showed off her presents to him. It wasn't the most interesting or exciting day, but it was _theirs_ , and it was the first time she'd been away from them for Christmas Day.

The first present was some pyjamas from Erin (who was gratefully thanked), followed by some perfume from Amanda and a stash of sweets and chocolate from Stan and Omar. Angelina and Alicia had also bought her some chocolate. Walter's presents were covered in spellotape and crinkled wrapping paper, though the actual contents were good-quality; two new slogan t-shirts, some obscure coloured nail varnish, a new book on dragons and a pair of fluffy slippers. Her parents gifts—a new jumper, faux leather knee-length boots, various make-up pieces, and finally a pair of diamond earrings—came with a card that read;

 _Dear our darling daughter,_

 _Merry Christmas! We'll miss you so much, but we know you can't miss the Yule Ball. We're excited to hear everything about it! We want details, details, details! Don't leave anything out!_

 _Take a picture in your dress and send it with your next letter. We can't wait to see how beautiful you look._

 _We thought the earrings might complete the outfit!_

 _Love,_

 _Mam and dad xxxxxxx_

Lara set her things back onto her trunk with a sigh. She never thought she'd say it, but she actually missed being home.

Erin, whose parents spoiled her rotten at Christmas and her birthday (she said, when asked about the extravagance, it was to make up for the emotional absence of their relationship, which always led to an awkward cough from Stan and a _look_ from Amanda to whomever asked in the first place), took quite a bit longer to finish off. Finally, however, the two girls changed and went downstairs to find their other friends. In the common room, Stan was sat with the sixth years as they exchanged presents.

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Erin beamed, launching herself through the crowd to hug Stan.

The crowd returned the gesture of goodwill, and repeated it again when Lara also wished them a Merry Christmas. She also went to hug Stan first, as he was her oldest and dearest friend among the group, and then moved onto the sixth years. When she got to the twins, who were sharing the armchair, they pulled her into a double hug, their cheeks all pressed together.

"Hey losers," she said good-naturedly once they released her. "What'd you get?"

"Pranks—"

"Sweets, chocolate—"

"Fireworks—"

"A jumper," they both pointed to their jumpers, one red, the other blue, with 'F' and 'G' in gold on the front. "Thanks for the t-shirts," George grinned widely.

"You're welcome," Lara replied. She'd asked Walter to buy two t-shirts with pointing arrows and the words 'HE DID IT' on the front, mostly to see the twins using them when they got into trouble, which was a lot recently thanks to their Canary Cream obsession.

"Can't wait to use them on Snape," smirked Fred.

"He'll be so annoyed," George sounded absolutely delighted about annoying their Potions Professor. "Anyway, here's your present."

He handed her a small black box. Lara had no idea what to expect; another pink firework? A piece of chocolate that turned her into a walrus? If it was food, there was no way she was eating it. She'd learnt the hard way not to accept anything from them. Two days ago, she'd spent twenty minutes hopping around the common room as a little yellow bird, tweeting indignantly and flapping her wings, her friends howling with laughter around her.

The box wasn't filled with exploding objects or strange looking food; no, inside was a thin silver ring with a little love-heart in the middle. For a moment, Lara was too shocked to react.

"You guys…" she breathed, staring at the jewellery unblinkingly, half-expecting it to change into a shark or a flower that squirted water all over her face. "This is beautiful—I can't—aw, guys," and she launched forward to bring them into another squishy hug.

"Are you going to cry?" George asked, sounding rather panicked.

"No, but I can if you want—"

"No, no. You're good. You're fine," he patted her back awkwardly.

She squeezed them one last time before pulling away and looking at the ring again. It still hadn't changed into something that would bite or sting her, and it was so simple and yet so perfectly pretty. Picking it out of the box, she slipped it onto her right middle finger. After a moment of staring at it on her hand, she brought the twins into yet another hug—they both groaned and tried to push her away—before she was dragged away by Erin, who wanted to find Omar and Amanda.

They found them in the Great Hall, where they all had breakfast together at the Ravenclaw table. Wanting to spend the day together, the group of friends then went to a windowsill and got comfy. Amanda cast a warming charm over them and Stan summoned a few jackets to use as blankets. At some point in the afternoon, Erin, who was sat next to the window, could see the Weasley's and some friends having a snowball fight on the grounds. Lara tried to see, but most of the window was covered in frost, blocking the view.

Amanda was the first to leave. At half four, she announced she was already half an hour behind schedule and rushed off towards the Ravenclaw Tower. The boys looked confused but said nothing, though at five, when Erin said she and Lara had to get back too, they didn't hold back.

"How long do you need to get ready?" Stan whispered, sounding half-awed and half-horrified.

"Oh, come _on_. You don't need three hours," said Omar. "Stay a bit longer—"

"Hey, if you want me to look pretty tonight, you shut up," Erin directed this at Omar. "Otherwise I'll look like Pennywise and nobody wants that—"

"Who's Pennywise?"

"A killer clown," Erin offered no more explanation after this (even though Omar looked utterly befuddled), and dragged Lara towards the Gryffindor Tower.

The other girls were already there and in the process of getting ready. Alexa and Allison were going with two boys from Hufflepuff, while Fiona was going with some of her Ravenclaw friends. All the girls chatted excitedly throughout the night, even Fiona, who, to her roommates' relief, was in a relatively good mood. She even borrowed Alexa some charcoal eyeliner. For a moment, Alexa looked as if she thought it was a joke, then cautiously took the pencil and used it. When she handed it back to Fiona, who thanked her and went back to getting dressed, Alexa looked very surprised indeed.

At quarter to eight, Lara found herself stood in front of a mirror, self-consciously twirling and inspecting every inch of her body. The dress fitted relatively well (though it was a little tight at the bust; Erin said this was good for her cleavage) and her hair, which was pin-straight and long down her back, and make-up, simple except the blood red lipstick, were well done thanks to Alexa and Allison's help. Letting out a small, shaky breath, Lara stepped aside and allowed Erin to critique herself.

"I think we all look fantastic!" Allison beamed, patting down the front of her lacy orange dress. "Shall we head downstairs?"

The other girls nodded silently, too anxious to speak. Lara felt like she'd been Jelly-Leg Jinxed as she carefully walked down the stairs. Once she got down them safely, she looked up and was momentarily overwhelmed by the amount of people and variety of colours in the common room. Erin gently took her hand and pulled her along to the back corner, where the sixth and seventh years had gathered together.

Lee whistled when he noticed them. "Looking good, girls."

"Cheers, you too," Erin grinned. Lara could only manage to give him a friendly smile.

"Your dress is so lovely," Angelina appeared at Lara's side, giving her a swift pat on the shoulder. "Are you nervous?"

"Petrified." Lara replied with a gulp. "It's ridiculous, I know, but…"

"It's not. You've liked him for ages, you're bound to be scared—"

"Don't worry about it," a voice said from behind Angelina. "You'll have the best night of your life, I guarantee it."

Lara peered around Angelina's shoulder. Fred was stood there with a grin on his freckled face, dressed in black and red robes. He looked very handsome and, somehow, beefier and taller than usual. "You look good," Lara smiled anxiously.

"You look spiffing," he chirped, then dipped down to kiss her cheek. "Brentford won't know what's hit him."

"Thanks," she sighed, just as George appeared in black and blue robes. "Hey, Georgie. Looking handsome."

"You look handsom-er," he also kissed her cheek, the one Fred hadn't. Unlike Fred, however, he looked slightly nervous. "Ready to dance?"

"Absolutely not. You?"

"What you said."

Lara snorted and turned to Alicia, who was stood with Glenn Chan, her date for the evening. Once they'd shared a quick hug, Lara bid goodbye to her friends and walked out of the portrait hole with the people who had dates from other houses, which was George, Erin and Stan.

Stan was the first to find his date; his pretty brunette Beauxbatons date was stood with her friends near the staircase, clad in a turquoise dress with glittering silver lace. He met her with a dazed smile, offering her his hand while she giggled. Erin and George found Omar and Amanda stood together in the middle of the Entrance Hall. Amanda was in her purple dress and Omar was in light grey robes, his hair combed and fluffy looking. Omar bowed as Erin rushed towards him, while George met Amanda halfway, momentarily lifting her into air by her waist.

Shaking her head at their antics, Lara glanced around the throng of people looking for a tall head of dark hair. Just as she was about to join her friends and wait with them, she saw David stood near the Great Hall doors with some friends and their dates. He looked jittery and sweaty; one of his friends seemed to be giving him a pep talk, patting him on the back with an amused grin. Lara went to bite her bottom lip, remembered her red lipstick, and cursed. She huffed at her own stupidity before slowly heading over to David.

His friends spotted her. They nudged and hit each other for a bit, and then one of them whacked David in the arm and motioned towards her. David, who was listening intently to his pep-talk, glanced over to where his friends were pointing and saw her. One of his friend thudded him in the back, pushing him forward, and David glared at him for a second before meeting her halfway.

"Hey," Lara said softly, swallowing down a nervous giggle. She eyed him up and down, her mouth going dry as she took in his fitted black robes, his tousled hair and bright, bright eyes. "You look…great."

"You look…wow," he peered down at her ruby red gown.

"I'm pretty sparkly."

"I like it. It's like looking at the stars."

Lara decided she didn't mind this analogy. "Thanks. Are you ready to dance?"

"Nope," he offered her his arm, which she gratefully took (her heels were already pinching her feet). "Are you?"

"Nope."

They entered the Great Hall together, and Flitwick's description of the theme being 'Winter Wonderland' seemed entirely fitting. Everything was covered in silvery-blue frost, with hundreds and hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The familiar long house tables were gone, replaced with smaller, circular tables with lanterns upon them that fit a dozen or so people.

David took hold of her arm and steered her into the crowd, which Lara was thankful for as she was too invested in the decorations to take notice of her surroundings. They ended up near George and Amanda, the latter of whom gently grabbed Lara's arm and said, "Doesn't everything look _amazing_?"

"It doesn't even look like the Great Hall," Lara replied wondrously. "And I thought the Christmas decorations were extravagant this year…"

The crowd suddenly went silent, looking over to the large golden doors of the Great Hall. Lara didn't know what was going on until Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies appeared, floating quickly through the crowd to a round of applause. The rest of the Champions followed with their dates.

"Is that _Hermione Granger_?" Amanda gasped as a pretty girl in a periwinkle dress walked along with Viktor Krum.

"I think so," Lara replied after eyeing the girl's face. "She looks beautiful."

By the looks Hermione was getting, Lara wasn't the only one to think so. In particular, Ron Weasley couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Lara snorted and hid it with a cough, just as the Champions took their seats at the teacher's bench, allowing the rest of the students to take their places around the circular tables. Lara ended up with most of her friends and their dates, including Angelina and Fred, who sat on the opposite side of the table laughing and clowning around together. They barely paid anyone else attention.

"And you are Lara?" Stan's date, Adela, said politely.

"Yes, that's right," Lara smiled politely. "It's nice to finally meet you—Stan can't stop talking about you."

Adela smiled and glanced fondly at her date. "Ah, that iz lovely, Stanley."

"Alright, Brentford?" Stan said, blushing under Adela's gaze. "I've been waiting for you to turn up as Lara's date for years."

"Shut up, Stan," replied Lara, rolling her eyes at the same time David chuckled and said;

"Finally worked up the courage to ask her out."

"Took you long enough!" Omar shouted down the table, pointing a chicken leg at the Hufflepuff. "I was about to march you over to her myself with some flash cards…"

Amanda let out an offended scoff, "That was _my_ idea!"

"You're embarrassing Lara," Erin commented, though she didn't seem overly bothered and continued to eat her food.

"I hate you all," Lara sighed, her face and neck bright red, and the table laughed at her expense.

After everyone had eaten, Dumbledore asked the crowd to stand and, once they had, waved his wand. The tables and chairs disappeared, making way for a large dance floor, and then he conjured up a raised platform along the right wall. Several musical instruments appeared on the stage.

Stan let out an excited laugh as The Weird Sisters lolled onto the stage, all extremely hairy and dressed in dark, edgy robes. As the members grabbed their instruments, Lara could see Stan's older brother, Orsino, sat at the drums. She began to try and get his attention along with her other friends (whose dates just stared at them as they waved their arms and jumped up and down), but then the Champions were on the dance floor and everyone gathered around them, blocking the band from view.

"The drummer is Stan's brother," Lara explained to David, who had his eyebrows raised questioningly. "Orsino—he was a Gryffindor a couple of years ago."

"Oh, yeah, I remember him," murmured David, as The Weird Sisters started up a slow, melodic tune. "Cool guy—makes sense that he's in a band now."

The Champions began to twirl around the dance floor. Roger Davies was doing extremely well, in Lara's opinion, not to trip over his own feet as he stared dazedly at Fleur. The others seemed nervous, though nobody fell over or span into the crowd, and soon the teachers and other students were joining in. David eagerly took Lara's hand and pulled her to the floor, easily slipped his hand into hers and resting the other on her waist.

"You can dance?" Lara murmured anxiously.

"Well, I know a few steps—my mum taught me," he smiled down at her. "Why, can't you?"

"I—well, I can sway from side to side and hum a little bit."

"That's good enough," he laughed and suddenly picked her up, twirling her around in the air.

The dance continued; Lara could see other couples around her, though David was steering her around so expertly that she could not take in faces. Suddenly the slow music stopped and was replaced by a faster, more light-hearted tune. David stopped twirling them around and arched his arm, spinning Lara around so fast she lost her footing and stumbled into his chest.

He simply laughed and spun her around again, her hair flying out around her, and she let out a breathless laugh against his chest when she crashed into it again. They danced until the next song ended and then David said, "Shall I go and get drinks?"

"Sure!" Lara beamed over the music, allowing him to lead her off the dance floor.

Angelina and Alicia were stood nearby talking with smiles on their faces. Lara headed over to them.

"Hey," Lara chirped once she was close enough. "Having fun?"

Angelina nodded brightly and, Lara noticed with a jolt, she seemed rather dishevelled, as if she'd been dancing exuberantly. "I was always going to have a good time with Fred, wasn't I?" she shrugged, and Alicia nudged her teasingly in the side.

"Glenn's gone to get some drinks," Alicia then said.

"Yeah, so has David."

"I'm so happy you're here with him," grinned Alicia, bringing Lara into a side-hug. "My little Lara, all grown up…"

"I'm older than you!"

"Technicalities, woman."

Over Alicia's shoulder, Lara could see the twins heading their way, their identical heads bent as they whispered to each other. They both looked rather angry, their eyebrows pinched together. Angelina called out to them and they looked up, their faces softening slightly.

"Hey Angie," George grinned as she rushed over to him. "Good night?"

"Great night," she responded and eyed him worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Glenn Chan appeared and Alicia disappeared with him. Lara stepped up towards Fred and said, "Are you okay? What's happened?"

"Nothing," Fred forced a smile to his face. "Just talking about business, is all."

"Business?"

"The joke shop."

Lara nodded understandingly. "You know, if you ever need investors…I have about ten galleons in the bank…"

"Thanks, Culpepper," chuckled Fred, gently tugging on the end of her hair. "Are you having fun?"

"Yeah," she sighed dreamily. "You?"

"Of course," he glanced over to where Angelina was still fussing over George. "Angelina's a worse dancer than me, I think."

"Impossible."

"Cheeky cow," he smirked, and she jokingly reached out to kick him in the shin.

"Oh, sorry, Weasley. I didn't realise you were here or I would've got you a drink," David appeared with two bottles of butterbeer, handing one to Lara.

"No problem, Brentford," Fred shrugged. "See you guys later."

He bounded over to Angelina and dragged her towards the dance floor. Watching them go for a moment, Lara then turned to David and gave him a smile. "Was it difficult to get the drinks?" she asked.

David was staring at the floor intently. Hearing Lara's question, he shook his head, knocking himself out of his trance and replied, "Oh, not really. I'm pretty tall so I could just reach over and grab a couple."

"Yeah, that wouldn't work for me."

"Maybe in those heels it would."

"Doubt it. Half of the school is still taller than me."

David looked like he was going to argue, but then a group of boys walked past, all of whom towered over Lara's small frame. "Yeah, okay," he laughed. "I'll get the drinks tonight."

Finishing off their bottles, the duo went back into the crowd on the dance floor. They danced for a long time, sometimes joined by Lara's friends, sometimes David's, and the night wore on. Later on, Lara dragged all of her friends together for a dance, just them and no dates, and she seemed to kick-start something among the group. Everyone swapped partners; Angelina went to George, Erin to Stan, Amanda to David, and so on and so on. Lara ended up stumbling into a pair of strong arms, giggling brightly.

"Hey Freddy," she smiled up at the ginger-haired boy.

"I'm George."

"You're Fred," she replied, because she could tell by his teasing smile. "I can tell you apart now."

"I doubt it. Our own mum can't tell us apart."

"I thought that was just a rumour."

"Nope, we're the ultimate tricksters," he placed his arms lazily around Lara's waist. She smiled slightly and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're wearing the ring," he said after a stretch of compatible silence.

"I'll always wear the ring," she grinned back. "It's proof that you and George are big softies at heart."

"I regret the present."

"No takesies-backsies," she chirped. "And every time you call me annoying, I'll show you the ring as proof of your undying love—"

"You're annoying."

Lara pulled back her arm and pressed the ring into his face. "Feel the love, Fred, feel the love—"

"Don't be weird."

" _My love,_

 _There's only you in my life,_

 _The only thing that's right…_ "

Fred burst into uncontrollable laughter. "You're a shite singer, Culpepper."

" _…_ _MY FIRST LOVE,_

 _You're every breath that I take,_

 _YOU'RE EVERY STEP I MAKE_!"

He began to tickle her waist, effectively ending her tirade. Lara continued to laugh long after he'd stopped, swaying from side to side exuberantly as Fred stared down at her with a half-amused and half-bewildered expression. "How many drinks have you had?" he asked.

"A few," she shrugged. "How many have _you_ had?"

"Not enough, clearly."

"Do you want me to get you drunk?"

"I'll get myself drunk," he reached for her hand and began to pull her towards the drinks table. "Butterbeer?"

"Sure."

She perched herself onto a table, her legs dangling in the air. She glanced around the party as she waited for Fred to return; everyone seemed rather dazed and dreamy, their eyes dilated, stunned smiles on their faces. The trivial, childish drama that usually invested the hallways had disappeared. In the distance, Lara was pretty sure she could see some Gryffindor's and Slytherin's having a civilised conversation.

"Here you go," Fred appeared with two butterbeers, handing one to Lara whilst taking a swig of his own.

"You know what I've realised?" Lara said as Fred downed his drink, placed the empty bottle onto the table and then pulled a full bottle from his robe pocket. "The more I drink, the less my feet hurt."

Fred peered down at her silver-heeled feet. "Those look _awful_."

"They're like weapons, aren't they?"

"Middle-Aged spears," Fred murmured, picking her right leg up by the ankle to stare at the shoe. "How have you worn these all night?"

"Beauty is pain, my friend."

"I think I can see your blood."

"Probably, they're pretty uncomfortable—"

"Eh…what are you doing?"

Fred and Lara looked over to the familiar voice. David was stood, arms-crossed, as he stared at them with raised eyebrows. Lara was about to ask what he meant, and then she realised what it must look like. Her, perched on a table, dress hiked up to her thighs; Fred, stood holding her foot in his hand, bending over to stare at her slightly swollen foot.

"Admiring the technicalities of heels," Fred responded smoothly. "I'm suddenly very glad I'm a bloke."

"Yeah, but girls have boobs, and they're great."

Fred shot Lara an amused look. David, for the most part, looked more confused than ever at her comment.

"Anyway," Lara pushed her dress back down and hopped off the table. She cringed as she landed on her aching feet. "I'm not sure I can dance anymore…"

"Shall we go onto the grounds?" David asked, walking over and grabbing her hand. "And you can take them off."

Lara nodded, bid goodbye to Fred, and hobbled towards the Great Hall exit and into the open grounds. The fairy lights in the rose garden glittered above their heads in the pressing darkness, leading them down the steps and to an area filled with tall bushes. David gently tugged her up an ornamental pathway and towards a bench carved in off-white marble. Flopping down on it, Lara tugged off her strappy heels and placed them on the floor.

" _Merlin_." She whispered, rubbing her aching feet. "I can't feel my toes."

"Why didn't you wear flats?" David smirked and sat down beside her.

"Well, that would be too practical."

Lara glanced around the garden and noticed several granite statues, varying in size and colour. Somewhere nearby, water trickled gently, reminding Lara of the sound of a fountain. Other couples milled around the place, talking in low voices, their heads pressed together. In the distance, a girl in blue and a boy in green were snogging fiercely against a bush.

"I wonder if they came to the ball together," Lara giggled, turning back towards David.

"I really hope so," smirked David, glancing over at the couple before staring at Lara again. "Otherwise they'll be a _lot_ of drama tomorrow."

"I bet at least six couples will have split tonight."

"That many?"

"I'm a cynic," she shrugged with a teasing smile. "Loads of new couples will have been made, too, though!"

David smiled and placed his hand upon Lara's. Her heart lurched as his eyes flicked down to her lips. Giving him a small, encouraging smile, Lara took a deep breath and closed her eyes. His lips pressed against hers, warm and slightly dry. She shakily cupped his face with her hands, her stomach in knots, her skin burning from the pressure of the moment.

She'd thought about this since she was fourteen and it was glorious.

"Are we?" David murmured, pulling away slightly, his lips hovering over Lara's.

"Are we what?"

"One of those new couples."

Laughter burst from her lips, "Yeah, I hope so," she whispered and kissed him again.

* * *

 _...don't hate me?_

 _At least she and Fred still got a dance, right? Kind of. Until Lara started to sing. But anyway-hope you guys still liked it. And thank you for the reviews and everything else, I really do read and appreciate them all!_

 _next chapter: the aftermath_


	12. Orgasmic-ly ginger and a barrel of fun

**...**

 **Chapter 12.**

 _January._

 _Orgasmic-ly ginger and a barrel of fun_

For the next few days, the atmosphere at Hogwarts was rather lethargic. Most of the upper years spent them in bed, and those who didn't lazed about in the common room eating sweets and not thinking about all the homework they had to do. Glenn Chan took to laying upside down on the armchair and letting out wistful sighs whenever the Yule Ball was mentioned.

Lara, except for meals, didn't leave her dormitory. She had mountains of homework to finish before school started and with McGonagall shouting, "N.E.W.T.S. ARE IN _FIVE_ MONTHS," every time she got the chance, Lara felt the pressure to get good marks. Her DADA essay in particular was proving to be quite difficult, which meant for New Year's, Lara spent her evening on Erin's bed with DADA books and empty scrolls, staring at the window and wondering if she jumped out of it, would Moody give her an extension on the homework?

Lara was so stressed, so over the pressure of school, that by the time she headed for lunch, she wasn't ready for the drama waiting for her.

"Have you read the _Prophet_?" Stan asked the moment Lara sat down.

"Why would I have done that?" Lara sighed loudly, fighting with her bag strap and her books and her quills. With an annoyed huff, she dropped everything onto the floor and it landed with a _thud_. "I don't read anything that bloody newspaper says…"

"First of all; aggressive." Omar wiggled his finger with a smirk. "Second of all; Rita Seeker's wrote an article on Hagrid."

"Turns out he's half-giant," said Erin.

Lara blinked at her friends, who were all staring at her expectantly. " _Oo_ kay," she said slowly. "I mean, I feel like that was pretty obvious…"

"HA!" Stan yelled, slamming the table with his palm. "I _told_ you."

"I said the same thing," Erin muttered. "I thought it was common knowledge."

"Of course it's not!" Amanda squeaked. She anxiously fiddled with her cutlery, her lunch sat in front of her uneaten. "If I'd have known…"

"You'd _what_?" spat Lara. "Why does it make a difference?"

"Giants are awful creatures. They're _vicious_. They kill each other and humans—"

"So? What does that have to do with Hagrid?" asked Omar.

"We've known him for seven years," Stan huffed and sent a glare towards Amanda. "I got homesick in my first year and he gave me a rock cake. He's a good guy. Judge him on that, rather than something that doesn't even matter."

Lara nodded and sent Stan a proud smile. "It just means Hagrid's a bit taller than most people."

"But what if he…what if he gets angry and his half-giant side comes out…"

"He's been here, what, twenty years or something?" Omar glanced around his friends for confirmation; they shrugged uncertainly. "Anyway, he's been here a while and he's never lost his temper, not even with Ferret Boy. You have nothing to worry about."

Amanda looked back down at her food, deep in thought, and said nothing else. Erin gave the rest of them pointed looks and Stan changed the subject to Quidditch, which made her roll her eyes. After a few minutes of, "The Bats are SO MUCH better than the Wasps," Erin was red in the face and looked close to exploding. Her mouth opened—probably to rant about the stupidity of the sport—when a distraction turned up in the form of David Brentford.

"Hey guys," David said with a smile, taking a seat beside Lara.

"Bats or Wasps?" questioned Stan instantly.

"I'm sorry?"

"They're Quidditch teams," Erin sighed.

"I don't really like Quidditch," David shrugged awkwardly. "Sorry."

Omar and Stan stared at him as if David had just admitted to fancying The Bloody Baron.

"Ignore them," said Lara, giving David a smile. "The correct answer is the Holyhead Harpies, anyway. How was your morning?"

"Handed in a few essays, so it's been productive. Yours?"

"About the same."

"So, eh…" David glanced at Lara's bickering friends (though Amanda, who was still sulking, stayed silent). "Hogsmeade is this weekend and…I was wondering if you wanted to go together?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Lara grinned. "So, yes, I do."

"Great!" for a moment he looked like he was going to kiss her, but then someone shouted his name. Looking down the table, Lara could see some of his friends waiting for him, their arms full of books. "I have to go…we're doing a lunch study thing in Herbology."

"I've never been happier that I didn't take it."

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Yeah, yeah. I'll see you soon."

"Bye!" she shouted after his quickly retreating figure.

" _Awwwwwwwww_." Erin cooed, putting her chin in her hands to smile dreamily at Lara. "That was so _cute_!"

"He only asked me to Hogsmeade—"

"But his little face," simpered Erin. "I think I'm starting to approve of this union, you know."

Amanda gave a half-hearted shrug. "I suppose. I still think Fred's the better choice, though."

"That's because he looks like Charlie," Lara teased.

"Speaking of—what's happened with George?" Erin asked.

"Nothing much. He's too sweet for me to take advantage of," Amanda's lips quirked, the light in her eyes returning. "It was a lot of fun, though. And I gave him a quick kiss at the end of the night, just as a thank you, you know."

"And what about…" Lara looked pointedly at Omar, who was still talking loudly with Stan.

Erin's eyes blew wide and she discreetly shook her head. "He said 'thanks for the night, mate' at the end," she whispered, leaning forward slightly. Amanda scoffed and rolled her eyes, which was exactly how Lara felt. "I _know_. He kept saying stuff like that all night, too, making sure I knew we were there just as friends—"

"What are you lot whispering about?" asked Stan, poking his head into the little female huddle. "Boys? We can talk about boys. Don't push us out. Doesn't Diggory have a nice arse?"

Erin sighed and pushed Stan back into his seat. "We were talking about Lara's date with David. Also, yes, he does. Good eye."

Stan looked proud of himself as Omar asked, "He asked you to Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah," Lara couldn't help the smile that came to her face. "Crazy, huh?"

The group sat at the table until the bell rang, not wanting to brave the rain and sleet outside. However, for Lara's last lesson of the day—Care of Magical Creatures—she found herself in the wet anyway, staring at the new teacher, Professor Grubbly-Plank, with narrowed eyes. When Lara asked where Hagrid was, she was blatantly ignored and pushed towards the unicorn with an instruction to befriend it.

After the lesson, damp-haired and soggy-clothed, Lara trudged up to the Gryffindor common room.

"What happened to you—"

"Has Hagrid been fired?" Lara interrupted Angelina's question, pushing wet hair from her face.

Alicia rushed over and urged Lara towards the roaring fire before she said, "What do you mean?"

"We've got a new Care of Magical Creatures teacher," answered Lara. "Professor Grubbly-Plank. Surely Dumbledore wouldn't fire Hagrid, right?"

"Word in the hallways is that he's hiding in his cabin," said Lee.

" _Why_?"

"Embarrassment, probably. Giants aren't known to be the most considerate types," George said, then glanced up and blanched under Lara's angered stare. "Not that _I_ think that, obviously. I bloody love Hagrid. He always gives us the best detentions, doesn't he, Fred? _Help me out here_."

"He'll be back soon. I'm sure Harry will talk him round," Fred nodded. "Just give it a week or so."

"Poor Hagrid," Lara murmured, inching closer to the fire as her teeth began to chatter. "He was also s-so supportive of Walter…the w-whole reason he w-went into the Beast D-Department…"

Alicia worriedly started to rub Lara's upper arms to generate some warmth. Fred, after some awkward movements (in which he ended up looking like a deformed crab), pulled out his wand from his robes and pointed it at Lara. With a quick swish, she was dry and warm again, her skin tingling from the sudden change of temperature.

"Thanks, Freddy," she sighed, just as Erin and Stan turned up.

"What's going on?" Erin asked as she came to sit near the fire.

Lara quickly filled her friends in on Hagrid's absence. Erin pouted and said, "Poor Hagrid," and Stan agreed with Fred.

"He'll be back in a few weeks," he said confidently.

"And if not, we could ask our parents and siblings to write some letters saying how great they think Hagrid is," Fred said. "Maybe Hagrid will read them and stop being such a baby."

"That's a great idea, Fred!" Lara beamed. "Walter will write a whole essay if I ask. He and Hagrid still keep in touch now."

Fred gave a small smile but didn't look at her, instead turning to his brother and saying, "We'll send Charlie a letter tonight."

"And mum and dad," George agreed. "Probably Bill, too. Best not ask Percy. He'll probably agree with that Skeeter prat."

As the others joined the conversation, using each other to come up with names, Lara stared at Fred as he spoke with Lee and George. Outwardly he seemed the same…but she was getting a strange vibe from him. He'd barely looked at her since she'd come over, and he hadn't spoken to her directly. In fact, come to think of it, he hadn't really spoken to her at all since the Yule Ball.

The three boys suddenly stood up and began to head towards the dormitory stairs. Lara jumped to her feet and scurried over.

"Fred," she called out, reaching for his arm.

He turned and grinned at her…but it seemed strained, almost a grimace. "Alright, Culpepper? What's up?"

"I, eh…" she hesitated, panicking slightly. She didn't really have anything to say; she'd just panicked when he was walking away from her. Why, she wasn't really sure…she just wanted him to look at her. "I need some more food and stuff, if that's okay."

"Of course."

She dug into her pockets and pulled out two galleons. "Thanks."

"More chocolate than sweets?"

"Yeah, please—"

But he was already walking away, heading up the stairs without looking back. Lee absent-mindedly followed him and Lara stared after them, both hurt and angry, until she realised George had stayed behind.

"Sorry about him," he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck uneasily. "Don't take it personally…he can be a bit of an idiot sometimes."

"Did…did I do something wrong?"

"No, course not, he's just, y'know…"

Lara nodded even though she had no idea what George was going on about. He was _what_? Angry? Upset? But about what exactly? And how did it relate to Lara? These questions, however, didn't seem the type to ask Fred's twin brother. The last thing she wanted to do was make it uncomfortable between her and George.

"Sorry," George said with a small smile, then patted Lara's shoulder and headed up the stairs after his brother and friend.

Lara turned towards Erin, but she was talking to Angelina and Alicia. Nothing much had been said about Fred and Angelina since the Yule Ball, though they seemed to be on friendly terms, so it must have gone well. For all Lara knew, they could have a Hogsmeade date this Saturday. So, with this in mind, Lara knew now wasn't the best time to bring up Fred's cold behaviour, and instead grabbed her things and went up to her dorm with the intention of a hot shower and an early night.

* * *

On the morning of her big Hogsmeade date, Lara was awoken by Erin, who was in much of the same mood as she had been weeks before, back when she planned to leave Fred and Lara together alone in the Three Broomsticks. She helped Lara with her hair, make-up and clothes, chatted excitedly about what David might have planned, and then shooed Lara towards the Entrance Hall with a chirpy, "Good luck!"

Lara appreciated the effort. After everything that had happened with Fred—and everyone's expectations around it—Lara had assumed Erin would be unsupportive of David, much like Amanda, Stan and Omar seemed to be. They would never say it, but Lara knew they thought she and David weren't a good match. Amanda had basically said it outright ("You're too… _vibrant_ for him," she'd said, which was her way of calling Lara mad as a hatter), while Omar and Stan had hinted at it with sexual innuendos and not-so-subtle head tilts towards Fred.

(" _Stupid and utterly terrible—_ title of Brentford's sex tape," Stan had said after Amanda had described her Astronomy homework. In the background, Omar had been motioning wildly to Fred, who was a little ways down the table eating his dinner. Stan, noticing this, had continued, " _Orgasmic-ly ginger and a barrel of fun_ —title of Fred's sex tape," and then gave Lara a very pointed look as if to say 'look what you're missing out on'. She'd hit them both in the face with a handful of grapes, though it had had little effect).

Lara sighed as she began to walk down the stairs. If Erin had been convinced about David, the rest of her friends would, too…eventually. Erin was the least stubborn of the group, so it was only natural for her to be the first one to change her mind. Stan would be the last; not only was he as stubborn as a mule, he was also a proud Gryffindor and loved to support his fellow housemates. He'd probably always think she should fancy Fred purely because he was a Gryffindor, too.

But he'd change his mind. One day. Once he realised how _nice_ David was. Because he was so bloody nice, so _sweet_. And that was exactly what Lara liked most about him.

Getting to the bottom of the stairs, Lara looked up and saw David stood with some friends in the Entrance Hall. She walked over and slipped to his side, gently touching his wrist to let him know she was there.

"Oh, hey!" he beamed, lifting his arm to place it on her back. "Sorry I missed you. We were talking about the Transfiguration homework."

"It's a pain," one of David's friends sighed. " _Describe and evaluate the properties of non-verbal spells_ —I barely understand the question, never mind the bloody answer."

"Fiona Gerald has that question already finished, if you want to ask her for help," Lara smiled politely. "It'll probably take some bribing, though. She loves toffee."

"Cheers, Culpepper," the friend grinned. "I'm Patrick Summers, by the way."

"Ah, the guy that tried to get over the Age Line."

"That's him," another laughed, thumping Patrick on the back. "I'm Anthony Rickett."

"He's a beater for the Hufflepuff team," David said quietly in her ear. "And that's Malcolm, Herb and Greg—but _anyway_ , we best be off. See you guys when I get back!"

Lara gave the boys a friendly wave before departing with David. Once they'd given their names to the Head Girl, they walked towards Hogsmeade hand-in-hand. It was quiet for a while, so long that it began to get a little uncomfortable, and then David asked, "Shall we go to Madam Puddifoot's?"

"Oh…eh, sure." Lara replied, trying to sound excited, when in actual fact going to the tea shop made her feel slightly ill. She'd gone only once before, back in fourth year with Stan when they were trying to spy on Omar's first ever date, and among the cherubs and the confetti, they'd completely forgotten about embarrassing their friend and, horrified, ran out into the street.

Once at the tearoom, they grabbed a table in the back corner. Lara tried to ignore the copious amounts of pink and frills around the place as she took off her coat, throwing it onto the back of her chair. Madam Puddifoot hurried over to take their orders and, as Lara sat down, she returned with two empty china mugs and saucers, which she set in front of them quickly before hurrying to the next customer. As she rushed off, the little mug magically filled with perfectly brewed tea.

"Nifty." Lara murmured, lifting the cup to her lips to take a sip. Maybe this place wasn't as bad as she thought.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, I just like the teacup," she smirked, placing it back onto the saucer. "I haven't been to this place for years."

"I came last year," David said, then his eyes widened slightly.

"On a date, I'm guessing," grinned Lara. "Who was it?"

"I'm not—"

"Oh, come on."

"Latisha Randle," David flushed red as he said the name. "It did _not_ go well."

"What happened?"

"It was Valentine's weekend, so they had these cherub things throwing confetti everywhere. One landed in my drink and I didn't realise. I choked on it and spat my drink all over her…needless to say, she wasn't impressed."

Lara had to swallow a laugh. "Oh my."

"She still glares at me in the hallways," he looked serious as he said this, which only made Lara's desperation to laugh harder. "So do her friends, actually."

Lara had to take a drink of her tea to swallow her amusement. "That's awful," she said once she'd gathered herself. "For you and her."

"Yeah," David nodded and took a drink from his own cup.

The pause in conversation made Lara look to the rest of the tearoom, mostly to give herself something to do. It was filled with couples from all houses and ages, holding hands and kissing over the sugar bowls and tea-sets. Near the window she could see Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory bunched together. She was cuddled into his side, giggling as he whispered into her ear.

"Don't you think it's mad that we only have six months left at Hogwarts?"

Lara turned her attention back to David at the question. "Definitely. I can't even remember _not_ being here, you know? It's going to be so weird."

"Weird, but good, too. I'm ready to leave this place, I think."

"Oh?" Lara picked up her tea and took a drink. "How so?"

"Don't you think we've outgrown it?" he leaned forward on the table, a smug sort of smile on his face. "The drama, the constant Quidditch bull-crap, the ghosts, Peeves, the pranks—it's all a bit tedious."

Lara continued to drink. Honestly, she couldn't have disagreed with him more. Maybe the drama was a bit much sometimes, but the rest of it was what she was going to miss _most_ about Hogwarts. She would never get bored of Quidditch or Nearly Headless Nick (though the Bloody Baron left much to be desired), and just last week Peeves had made her week by throwing a water balloon filled with custard at some Slytherin's. Lara had laughed so much, she'd almost collapsed in the middle of the hallway and Stan had had to hold her up.

As for the pranking…a little part of her wondered if this was a dig at Fred and George. They'd caused havoc across the school for weeks now with their Canary Creams and Ton-Tongue Toffees, and yesterday they'd given the Head Boy a screaming yo-yo and it had shrieked all the way through a mock Charms exam. Not to mention three days ago when Fred had used Sticky Trainers to hang upside down in the Entrance Hall and throw dungbombs at people.

"I'm just glad we're here for the Tournament," Lara decided to say. "I would've been upset if I missed it."

"Hmmm."

"So, eh…" Lara awkwardly cleared her throat. "Do you have any siblings…?"

"No, only child."

"Cool, cool," she pursed her lips, desperately racking her brain for something else to talk about. "Do you like—"

"Someone mentioned you the other day," David interrupted her swiftly. "And they said you're a pure-blood, is that right?"

"Oh, eh…yeah," Lara cleared her throat slightly.

"A _proper_ pure-blood?"

"I don't—I don't really know what that means—"

"Your parents and _both_ pairs of your grandparents were all pure-blood's."

"Well, yeah—"

"How?"

"What do you mean—"

"Just…describe your family to me. I want to know more about them."

Lara frowned slightly, leaning back in her chair and fiddling with the end of her top. Something felt sufficiently _off_ about this, but she was so grateful for something to talk about that she dove in. "My mam's a Macmillan. Obviously, so was my maternal grandfather, and my maternal grandmother was an…Abbott, I think? My paternal grandfather was somehow related to the Black's, and my paternal grandmother was just a pure-blood by default, I think. Her family are originally from Norway."

"You're related to Ernie?"

"Second cousin, I think," Lara shrugged. "I'm not really sure. We're not a very close family."

"Your family is interesting."

"Is it?" Lara said dubiously. "The only thing I find cool is that I'm a quarter Norwegian."

"I think it shows you have strong magical blood," David grinned.

"I don't—"

"My parents always say being a pure-blood is better."

" _Better_?"

"For laws and stuff. With how biased they are," he hurried to add, licking his lips. "You know, if I had kids with a pure-blood, my kids would be considered pure-blood, too. My mum's mum was a half-blood, you see, which means my mum's a half-blood, too. No muggle-born's would be on either side of the tree if I married a pure-blood."

Lara just blinked at him. She had no idea what to say to that.

"I've never…I've never really thought about it," she murmured eventually, as David had continued to stare at her, waiting for her input. "My family aren't that fussed on the whole blood purity thing. We're just pure-blood by default. My parents happened to fall in love with each other at school and…that's it."

"Of course, of course. No big deal, right?"

But the atmosphere was more than uncomfortable after that. At least, for Lara it was. David chatted on about school and homework without a care in the world…but Lara had an uneasy feeling in her stomach, a one that wasn't going away. Every time she forced herself to smile at him, she got a sinking feeling in her chest, almost like a warning, though she couldn't figure out exactly what her body was trying to tell her.

Eventually they left Madame Puddifoot's and headed to the shops. After a while of trailing around the High Street, Lara tugged on David's hand. "Do you want to go to the Shrieking Shack?" she grinned wildly.

"Are you serious?" he asked, a smirk on his lips. "You _still_ like to go there?"

"Oh, come on. It's just a bit of a laugh—"

"It was when I was twelve," he snorted. "Do you _really_ want to go?"

Lara opened her mouth to say _hell yeah_ she wanted to go, but then she saw David's face. He was looking down at her as if she was a rambunctious toddler who he was trying to stop from having a tantrum. Her chest aching, she said, "Eh…no, that's okay. Like you said…we're too old for it now, aren't we?"

He nodded and pulled her along the pathway again. Lara trailed behind slightly, her mind whirling and buzzing, when she saw two ginger heads step out of Zonko's. Fred, George and Lee were together, their hands and pockets full of pranks, their faces alight with glee. George's head was thrown back in reckless laughter, and Lee tripped over something in the street from lack of concentration. Fred caught him with a snigger, patting his friend on the back before they headed for the Three Broomsticks together.

Looking back at her and David's intertwined hands, Lara realised something:

Despite the fact that she was on a date with the guy of her dreams…she would have given _anything_ to be right alongside Fred, George and Lee in that moment, childhood crushes be damned.

* * *

 _Annnd chapter 12 is out! Honestly this was such a difficult chapter to write because, well, David, but I got there in the end. As always, thanks for all the support! You guys are the best._

 _Also, I think I may have watched a little too much Brooklyn 99, but I digress..._

 _Ps. Lara (in my head, obviously) is related to the Black's through Phineas Black, who was burnt off the Black family tree for being a muggle rights supporter. He'd be her great-grandfather, if he was still alive. Just a little fun fact for you there._


	13. Drugged and semi-drowned

**...**

 **Chapter 13.**

 _February._

 _Drugged and semi-drowned._

Her date, Lara decided, was a disaster.

Maybe most people wouldn't think so; nobody died, nobody got upset, nobody shouted or screamed or caused a scene. They headed back to the castle hand-in-hand, David walked her to the Gryffindor tower, kissed her cheek and then went back to his own common room. For all intents and purposes, it seemed like the perfect first date. When she recounted it to Erin, she certainly thought so, squealing and clapping her hands excitedly as she asked when the next one would be.

Lara didn't have an answer. There was just something so… _weird_ about the date, something that made her inherently uncomfortable. She wondered if it was just the setting, the pinks and the frills, the little floral cups and saucers—was it those things that made her feel uneasy, rather than David himself? If they had another date in the Three Broomsticks or the Hogshead, would she feel better after the date?

But…Madame Puddifoot's wasn't _that_ bad. Sure, it was a little over-the-top, and she'd much rather go somewhere else, but it wasn't the worst place in the world. The tea was good and the happy couples gave the place a nice atmosphere. After a few minutes, she'd gotten used to it…so it _couldn't_ be the place.

It had to be David.

His little haughty smile when he mentioned the pranks in school, the way his eyes glinted when Lara talked about her blood-linage, his wording about pure-blood's being _better_ , and the way he'd dismissed Lara when she wanted to go to the Shrieking Shack. Whenever she thought about it, it made her skin crawl. But then another part of her would question if she was being over-dramatic, if she was reading too much into things…

Thankfully, the seventh years had so much work to do, she and David didn't have time to meet up again over the next few weeks. They passed each other in hallways and exchanged a few pleasantries, but then Lara would have to run off to Alchemy class or David would have lunchtime study class or McGonagall would call for an evening recap class or—

There was just a lot going on, and before Lara knew it, the Second Task was upon them. Awakening on the cold February morning, Lara reached over to shut off her alarm before collapsing back into her bed with a groan. She'd stayed up the night before with Erin to study for an upcoming Charms test, which probably wasn't the best idea considering they had to be up at half eight the next morning.

"Let's skip this crap and go back to sleep," Lara moaned, turning over and closing her eyes.

"We have to support Harry."

Lara moaned again. "We should've went to bed earlier."

"I know." Erin sniffed. For a moment, everything was silent, and then she huffed and threw back her covers. "Right, I'm up and I'm using the bathroom first!"

While the rest of the girls used the bathroom, Lara stayed in bed with her hands covering her face. Just as she was dozing off again, someone nipped her ribs until she sat up. "Your turn," Erin smirked. "We have to be at the second task in forty minutes, hurry up."

Lara detangled her legs from the covers and padded to the bathroom, shivering from the cold. Back in the dorm, she got ready with her eyes half-closed and then headed down for breakfast to find Stan, Omar and Amanda already sat at the Ravenclaw table.

"What do you think this one is?" Amanda asked instantly, an excited smile on her face.

"Well, the first one was fire, so maybe this one's water?" Erin guessed with a shrug.

"Maybe it's the Black Lake," Lara agreed. "There must be some stuff in there, right? The Giant Squid, for one."

"Oooh, maybe they battle the squid," grinned Stan.

"I hope not," Omar sighed. "I quite like that guy. He's our very own Loch Ness Monster."

"Monster is a very derogatory term," murmured Lara.

"Loch Ness Organism, then," Omar said and rolled his eyes. "Maybe they fight the merpeople."

"There's _merpeople_?"

"Sure." Amanda nodded. "Loads of them. Didn't _any_ of you read Hogwarts A History?"

The three Gryffindor's glanced sheepishly at each other. "Eh, no," Stan answered for the trio. "We haven't."

"I swear, that book needs to be mandatory for first years…"

Amanda's rant slowly faded out as Lara went back to her breakfast. She had just finished her plate when she spotted a group of boys coming into the Great Hall. Among them, she could see a tall head of dark hair, messing around with a friend. He began to look around the hall, first the Gryffindor table, up and down the benches, obviously searching for someone.

"Can we go?" Lara blurted out restlessly. "I want good seats."

" _Now_?" asked Stan, who was still shovelling scrambled eggs into his mouth. "But—"

"I'll meet you down there," Lara said, because David's eyes were now inching towards the Ravenclaw table. "I'll save you some seats, okay?"

Not waiting for their reply, Lara hurried out of the Great Hall, pulling down her knitted beanie to hide her face. She knew if David caught sight of her, he'd sit with her during the Second Task and, even worse, maybe ask to do something afterwards. The thought of being alone with him again made her stomach churn. Of course, she couldn't avoid him forever, but she still wasn't sure how she _really_ felt. A part of her wanted to give him a second chance…but the other part of her never wanted him near her again.

The prefects were lined up through the hallways and on the grounds, telling people to head for the Black Lake. As she bounded down the path, the Quidditch Pitch glistening in the distance, she saw a group of familiar people ahead of her. Rushing down the steps, Lara tripped and fell into Lee's back.

"Whoa, mate," Lee laughed as he grabbed her. "You okay?"

"I fell on a rock," Lara said breathlessly. "Are you guys heading for the Second Task?"

"Isn't everyone?" grinned Angelina. "Where's your friends?"

"I wanted to get good seats, so I said I'd come early and save them some."

"Good idea, Culpepper," George said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Excited to see Harry get eaten by the Giant Squid?"

"One; the Giant Squid wouldn't _eat_ him, he doesn't like humans. Two; I think he's fighting with the merpeople."

"Merpeople?" said Alicia. "There's merpeople in the lake?"

"Apparently so. That's what Hogwarts A History says, anyway."

"You read that?"

"Amanda read that," Lara grinned at George's question. "And told me this-morning. Merpeople makes more sense than the squid though, doesn't it? I mean, the squid helps students who fall into the lake, so it's not going to attack Harry and the others."

"Oh, yeah. I remember Dennis Creevey pissing himself about that during the Sorting Feast," Fred grinned widely. At the sound of his voice, Lara turned to look at him, glad for the excuse to stare at him. "I wonder if they have tridents and stuff. That would be _so_ bloody cool."

"Like King Triton?"

Fred's face scrunched. "Who?"

"Muggle reference," Lara smirked. "Never mind."

"Maybe they've put sharks into the water," Lee gasped. "And crocodiles. And killer whales."

"You do realise we're a _magical_ school, right? All those are non-magical creatures," said Alicia. "It's more likely to be grindylows and selkies."

"Alright, Newton Scamander. I'll keep that in mind."

Down by the lake, the seats from the First Task had been set along the bank, rising so high they reflected in the Black Lake's surface. At the minute, only a few groups of friends filled the chairs, all chatting happily and glancing wondrously towards the lake. George got so excited at the sight of them he began to jump up and down, dragging Lara, who he still had his arm around, with him.

Lee and Fred ran to grab a cluster of chairs near the front of the stands, throwing their jackets and scarves around some for the four missing seventh years. Lara sat with George on one side and Angelina on the other, both of them talking heartily over her head about what was in stall for the rest of the morning. The stands gradually filled up to the brim, from first years to seventh years, and Lara's friends turned up at quarter past nine, clad in knitwear and beaming excitedly.

"COME ON HARRY—wait, where's Harry?" Stan suddenly looked towards the golden-draped judges' table, where Cedric, Viktor and Fleur all stood.

"What do you mean _where's Harry_? He's right—oh, bugger," Lee murmured, his dark eyes scanning the Champions and realising there were only three.

"Bloody hell." Alicia whispered. "Where _is_ he? The Champions were meant to be here by nine!"

The seconds ticked by. The crowd began to get jittery and loud, hissing and giggling to each other. Lara could hear Harry's name being mentioned over and over again, some sounding worried, most sounding amused. The Slytherin's sounded particularly entertained.

"I'm going to kill him—forget about Voldy-pants, _I'm_ going to kill him myself." Fred muttered, glancing anxiously down at his watch.

"Voldy-pants?" Lara whispered, bending to look at Fred as he sat beside Angelina. "Did you just call the darkest wizard of all time Voldy-pants?"

Fred grinned wickedly at her. "Yeah, so?"

"You're unbelievable," Lara snorted, leaning back in her seat.

Fred appeared around Angelina's body again, a teasing smile on his face. "Unbelievably handsome?"

"Among other things."

"Would you like to name the other things—"

"Harry— _Harry_!" Alicia jumped to her feet, shaking Fred and Angelina's shoulders dramatically. "There he is!"

Sure enough, Harry Potter was sprinting towards the judges' table, coming up beside the other Champions. A few words were exchanged before Harry bent over, as if trying to catch his breath.

"Oh thank _God_." Erin gasped from behind Lara. "I thought he wasn't going to come."

"Yee have little faith, Goodwin!" George was now on his feet cheering for his friend. "Harry always comes through for us!"

Suddenly, the commentator's voice boomed across the lake, "Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One…two… _three_!"

The four champions all moved at once; Fleur and Cedric cast a charm on their faces before diving into the water, while Krum splashed through the shallows and disappeared without a trace. Harry took off his shoes and socks and walked into the water…and just stood there.

" _Oo_ kay," Lara whispered, her applause slowing. "What's he doing?"

"He's just…figuring it out," Lee said confidently, as the crowd began to snigger.

"He's got a plan," agreed George, then turned towards the laughing crowd and snapped, "Shut _up_ , you pricks! Show some dignity!"

"He'll show you all," Fred shouted. "Just you wait!"

But Harry was still stood in the water, shivering a little and staring out towards the lake mindlessly. The laughter got louder. The Slytherin's began to jeer. Lara started to worriedly twiddle with her fingers. She was beginning to worry Harry wasn't going to pull through this time, that he really didn't have anything planned…

Suddenly, Harry grabbed his neck as if he was in pain, and then he dove head first into the water. For a moment, there was a stunned silence…

"WOOOOOO! GO HARRY!" Fred and George screamed, rousing the rest of the crowd into applause and cheers.

Fifteen minutes later, however, the crowd had slipped into a twitchy, bored silence.

"In hindsight," Omar began, kicking his legs up onto the back of Fred's chair. "The whole _champions under a lake thing_ was a bit stupid. We can't see anything that's going on."

"Couldn't they magic up some underwater cameras and a big screen?" sighed Erin moodily. "Muggle's would be all over this. I swear, in some ways, muggle's are so much more advanced."

Amanda looked highly offended. "But we have _magic_."

"And they have _electricity_. It's amazing. You should check it out some time."

"Elec—eflec—electriffity—"

" _E-lec-tri-ci-ty."_

"Dear Merlin," muttered George as Amanda tried to stutter through the word again. "I'm gunna go up, see if I can see anything. Lara, want to come with?"

Lara looked up in surprise. Out of everyone here, she didn't expect to be George's first choice for his little adventure. She glanced over to Fred, but he was busy telling Omar and Stan about a garden gnome he and George tried to domesticate when they were kids. He was in the middle of saying how it trashed the kitchen and bit Percy on the arse, making the two seventh year boys collapse into fits of laughter.

"Sure," Lara said, getting to her feet and following him up the stairs.

He ran all the way to the top of the stands, then up some ladders that led to an unstable shelf. Lara hesitated on the steps, staring up at the rickety ledge that she was pretty sure wasn't meant to be used. It had a short fence to stop people from toppling over the sides, but it was still creaking and swaying in the wind. She peered down, wondering if she should just go back to her seat. However, George was already up there, waiting for her…

She sighed and continued upwards. George was peering over the fence into the lake, half balancing on one foot as he tried to get a good look.

"I can't see anything," he said as she came up to his side.

"Well, it is relatively dark down there. It's Scotland, after all, not the Bahamas," Lara teased.

"Bloody hell. I thought we'd at least see _something_ ," George sighed and stepped back, glancing at Lara from the corner of his eye. "So, eh…how's things?"

"What do you mean?"

"You seemed…panicky this-morning, when you caught up with us on the pathway…"

Lara wrapped her arms around herself, determinedly staring out onto the lake. "I just…wanted good seats, that's all. Although, it turned out to be rather pointless…"

"I know I'm not, like…your best mate or anything," George cleared his throat uncomfortably. "But…you can talk to me, y'know. Even if it's about boys. Even if it's about a particular boy that happens to look a lot like me."

"Fred was actually nice to me today," Lara chuckled. "Maybe I just annoyed him with my worry about Hagrid. I can get pretty high-rate sometimes."

"He thought that was quite cool, actually. And Hagrid's back now, so…"

"Nothing to worry about!"

"So if it's not Fred," George ignored her fake chirpy tone. "That means it must be Brentford…did your date go well?"

Lara shuffled on her feet and tightened her arms around herself. She wanted to use her fake-happy voice again and say _of course it did,_ but she couldn't bring herself to lie. Not only had her mam brought her up not to tell porkies, she also felt that George wouldn't appreciate her dishonesty.

"I don't…I don't want to make you feel awkward," Lara murmured.

"You won't." George replied instantly. "Like I said…you can talk to me…plus, I think Brentford's a knob, so…"

"It wasn't an _awful_ date," Lara said, and hoped to leave it there. However, George gave her an expectant look and nudged her with his foot. "I just felt…weird."

"How so?"

"I don't know…I felt like _he_ was being weird."

"Which means?"

"He was talking about how he'd outgrown Hogwarts, first of all," Lara blurted out. She wanted to stop, but it was like a tap had been turned on and the words were spilling from her mouth. "And he was quite…rude when I said I wanted to go to the Shrieking Shack. He basically said it was for kids and insinuated I was stupid for still wanting to go."

"The Shrieking Shack is the best thing about Hogsmeade," scoffed George. "Except Zonko's, obviously."

"Obviously," Lara nodded. "But…they were just little things. It was something else that…really freaked me out."

"Tell me."

Lara gulped; she hadn't even told Erin about the blood-purity conversation, mostly to protect her. Erin was a sensitive soul anyway, but her blood-purity had always been a particularly sore subject. With her parents not fully understanding her abilities, Erin relied upon the Wizarding World to feel a sense of belonging. When people rejected her because of being a muggle-born, something that wasn't in her control, she got really upset.

Lara had always thought it must suck for Erin to feel like she didn't completely fit in _anywhere_.

"He was…he was really weird about my blood," she said, then shook her head and cringed, realising how that must have sounded. "Not like _vampire_ weird, as in wanted to taste it or anything. He asked if I was _proper_ pure-blood and then asked me to describe _how_ I was a pure-blood. And then…then he was saying that if he married a pure-blood, his kids would be considered pure-blood 'cause there wouldn't be any muggle-borns on either side."

George didn't say anything for a long time. So long, in fact, that Lara looked over at him. He was staring at her, blinking rapidly, reminding her of a confused owl.

"What a prick," he eventually spluttered. "I can't—did he _really_ —he's never—"

"I didn't know what to say, either," Lara admitted quietly. "I mean, I'm not—it might sound stupid, but—I'm not a pure-blood on _purpose_ like the Malfoy's or the Black's. My family married for love, they just happened to all be pure-blood…at least, I think they did. My parents _definitely_ married for love. Mam always talks about how dad 'wooed' her in school."

"Wooed her?"

" _That's_ what you're focusing on?"

"Sorry, sorry." George snickered, brushing his hand under his nose. "He sounds like a prat, Lara."

"Eloquently put," she sighed. "But, yeah. I thought so, too."

"It's weird, 'cause I've always thought he was a knob, but I couldn't quite figure out _why_. Maybe my gut knew he was one of those freaky pure-blood fanatics."

Lara rolled her eyes, though her lips were quirking into a smile. Sighing loudly as the wind picked up, blowing her hair across her face, she said, "I have to break it off with him, don't I?"

"Well, that's up to you," George shrugged. "But…yeah, you do. He sounds like a weirdo."

"Bugger," groaned Lara, digging her hands into her pockets sullenly. "I've liked that guy since _fourth_ year."

"Yeah, I know," George said, elaborating further when Lara gave him questioning look. "Fred told me. Well, he told _us_ ; me and Lee. We couldn't figure out _why_ you liked him so much, so Fred told us about when he comforted you when your grandma died."

"He was so sweet," Lara sighed. "And he was sweet _after_ , too. Giving me smiles and stuff in the hallway…I just…fancied him, you know? Couldn't stop."

"Everyone has that person, I think. The one that you can't stop thinking about, even though you know it's stupid."

"Do _you_ have that person?"

"No, but I'm amazing," George grinned. "And I'm sure I'll meet mine one day. You just happen to have met yours quite young."

"I could've snogged so many guys…"

George laughed brightly. "I know, mate. It's alright. We can make up for it now."

"I was an idiot," Lara gave a small, humourless laugh. "Everyone was telling me there was something off about him, I just didn't want to listen."

"We're all idiots, sometimes," George reached out and brought her into a side-hug. "Forget about it. Move on. Have some fun."

"Is that your life motto?"

"Pretty much."

The stands below suddenly broke out into rambunctious applause. George peered over the side and said, "Diggory's back! Come on, let's head down."

Lara carefully descended the ladders and rushed down to her seat, where her friends were now cheering and eagerly looking towards the lake. In the distance, Lara could see Cedric and Cho swimming towards the judges' table. Madam Pomfrey rushed over with blankets and bottles of potions.

"Fleur's back, too," Angelina informed them loudly. "She got dragged out about ten minutes ago."

" _Dragged_ out?"

Angelina shrugged and went back to cheering. Lara didn't really understand how she'd missed Fleur returning from the lake, though she'd been pretty immersed in her and George's conversation. She turned to George, wondering if he'd noticed Fleur coming out of the water, but the crowd broke out into roars and cheers again.

Viktor was back with Hermione Granger. He looked like he was trying to pander over her, but Hermione waved off his concern and looked back towards the lake with an apprehensive frown.

"If Hermione's down there that means Ron is, too!" Fred yelled out, turning towards his twin. "George, that's what we had to get them for! So they could be knocked out and put into the lake!"

"So we got our little brother drugged and semi-drowned," said George. "Nice. Mum will be thrilled."

"It's well past the hour time limit," Alicia said worriedly. "Where's Harry? Do you think he's okay?"

Lee scoffed. "It's _Harry_. Of course he is."

"Then where _is_ he?" spat Angelina. "If that boy dies before I win the cup as Captain, I swear to _Merlin_ …"

"Yes, Johnson, _that's_ the most important thing at stake here," Fred smirked sarcastically.

Angelina merely rolled her eyes, still watching the lake. The whole crowd was on edge, rocking back and forth as they awaited the arrival of Harry Potter. The whispering began again; some people thought he was hurt, others thought he was just doing it for attention.

" _Attention_?" scoffed Erin, tittering loudly. "Yeah, he's risking dying a painful and slow death for _attention_. Honestly, you people need to get a life."

"Read a book, maybe," Amanda agreed. "Hogwarts A History would be a good bloody start."

The Black Lake rippled. The crowd gasped as a collective unit, leaning forward in the stands. Three heads popped out of the water; one dark, one ginger and one blonde. The ginger and blonde one looked rather lifeless, and everyone screamed and shouted, thinking they were dead or seriously hurt. Then, suddenly, Ronald Weasley let out a stream of water from his mouth, reminding Lara of a fish, and nervous giggles scattered across the stands.

"That bloody prat," grumbled Fred, though he sounded infinitely relieved. "Who's the kid with him?"

"Looks like she's related to Fleur to me," said Angelina. "Look at the hair."

"Is that _Percy_?" George suddenly asked as a ginger man ran out into the shallows towards Harry and Ron. "That idiot. He never tells us when he's going to be here."

"Embarrassed of us, that's why," sighed Fred, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "You'd think we were troublemakers or something."

Percy seized Ron by the robes and dragged him out the water. At the same time, Fleur Delacour came tearing towards the little girl, who she took into her arms. Ludo Bagman and Dumbledore helped Harry to his feet, which gave Madam Pomfrey the chance to grab him and warm him up.

"Fourth," sighed Lee, clapping unenthusiastically. "I mean, I'm sure he tried his best…but _fourth_."

"But he got _two_ hostages. Doesn't that count for something?" asked Stan. "It _should_. Great character, that is. He should get extra points for that."

Omar shook his head. "You Gryffindor's are so bloody noble."

"Well, the judges seem to be arguing about something," Alicia grinned excitedly. "Maybe Stan has a point."

George leaned around Lara towards his twin, whispering, "Fleur's just kissed Harry and Ron on the cheeks."

"Ron will be dying on the inside," snorted Fred joyfully. "Oh, I can't wait to mention that later."

"Ladies and gentleman," Ludo Bagman's voice rang out across the lake, making the stands go silent. "We have reached our decision. Merchiefainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each champion, as follows…Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."

The crowd in the stands clapped politely. The Beauxbatons students, who stood out in their blue uniforms among the sea of black, cheered and shouted some things in French towards their schoolmate.

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was the first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour. We therefore award him forty-seven points."

Everyone cheered again, the Hufflepuff's particularly loud. Cedric's friends screamed and waved their 'GO CEDRIC' banners.

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points."

The Durmstrang students let out deep, enthusiastic hollers.

"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect. He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchiefainess informs us that Mr. Potter was the first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own. Most of the judges feel that this shows moral fibre merits full marks. However…Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points."

Stunned into silence for a moment, the crowd then broke out into tremendous applause.

"Moral fibre," laughed George, shaking his head. "Bloody _moral fibre_."

"He can do no wrong," Fred grinned. "Never mind The-Boy-Who-Lived, it's The-Boy-With-Nine-Lives."

"The third and final task will take place on the twenty-fourth of June. The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you for all your support of the champions."

And then it was over. People began to head back towards the castle, talking amongst themselves. For a moment, Lara felt slightly dizzy; they'd waited _months_ for this, and it was over so fast, without any warning…

"Come on," Fred said loudly, a bright smile on his freckled face. "Let's go and pry the exciting bits from Harry and Ron. See if merpeople really do have tridents."

* * *

 _Writing this I realised how annoying it must have been to be a Hogwarts student for the tournament. You wait months for the second task, expecting something even better than dragons, only to turn up at your regular school lake and stare at the water...poor lads._

 _Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for all the support!_

 _PS. to answer a review question, this book it canon. So...yeah. Fred...yeah. Don't worry, I'm not ready for it either._

 _Also, apologies for the later chapter, I moved house and it was a bit of a nightmare for a while. I'm currently posting this using my phone data so hopefully it loads properly. Fingers crossed._


	14. And then rip out your tongue

_A/N. Some swearing in this chapter._

 **...**

 **Chapter 14.**

 _And then rip out your tongue_

 _March-April._

The weeks following the Second Task were, for the seventh years at least, busy and filled with exam prep. February turned into March and the frost covering the castle grounds melted, replaced by blossoming daises and wildflowers. With the air warmer and drier, Care of Magical Creatures became more bearable, although the Blast-Ended Skrewts were still astonishingly unpleasant. Talk of N.E.W.T.S was rife, not only from teachers but also among the students. Duncan Inglebee, who'd proclaimed to anyone that would listen at the beginning of the year that he would get twelve N.E.W.T.S., started crying in Transfiguration after a particularly brash speech from McGonagall.

After that, Lara felt like she was handling the stress rather well. Her worst grade was an A in Transfiguration, which she figured wasn't all that bad. In the rest of her subjects, she was either on track for an O or an E. Whenever this was mentioned, Stan would start to sob and fall back on the floor, no matter where they happened to be at the time. Days before, he'd almost crushed Professor Flitwick.

By the time the Easter holidays began, the seventh years were more than relieved. Not because they'd have a smaller workload—no, the teachers had made sure they'd stay busy with homework—but just to get away from the teachers, who were getting increasingly overbearing.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Omar screamed in the middle of the Great Hall on Saturday morning. At least five people choked on their drinks in shock. "If I heard it _once_ more, I was going to jump off the Astronomy tower."

Stan, who was the one of the five people who chose the wrong moment to hydrate, was starting to turn a little blue. Erin reached over and unceremoniously thumped him on the back.

"I was more fed-up with McGonagall's speeches," muttered Amanda. " _These exams will define and frame the rest of your life. DO YOU WANT TO GET BAD RESULTS, A BAD JOB AND DIE MONEYLESS AND DEPRESSED?_ "

"Okay, I'm pretty sure she doesn't say that last part," Lara smirked before she had another mouthful of casserole.

"It's heavily implied."

"I think we need to take up yoga," Erin said as Stan caught his breath. "My mum swears by it. She says it's an amazing stress relief."

"It's that thing with the…" Omar formed a circle with his pointer fingers and thumbs, then began to hum.

"That's _meditating_ ," sighed Erin. "Yoga focuses more on breathing and releasing the tension in your muscles."

Lara swallowed her food before saying, "You have to be quite flexible, though, so Stan's out."

"I don't need to be flexible," Stan croaked as he massaged his throat with his hand. "I have stamina."

"Ew," mumbled Amanda.

"Adela will be thrilled," Omar said flatly. "But moving on, I'm glad for the break from the preaching."

"Yeah, now we just have to live in the library for the next two weeks," Erin snorted, and Amanda threw a strawberry at her while the other three groaned.

Erin was, however, correct; Lara spent the next two days in the library, focusing mostly on her Transfiguration essays. By the time she finished her second, it was quarter to eight and Madam Pince was hovering around her table, tapping her foot impatiently and staring at Lara over her glasses. Giving the librarian an awkward smile, Lara grabbed her things, shoved them into her backpack and rushed out of the library towards the Gryffindor common room.

Inside, Lara could see the some of the sixth and seventh years sat in front of the fire. Erin was in the armchair alone, so Lara went over and perched herself onto the arm, resting her head against the back.

"Fun session?" asked Erin, her voice tinged with amusement.

"I'm pretty sure Madam Pince hates me."

"She hates everyone."

Lara sat up with a groan. "I got my 'figuration essays finished."

"Son of a—I haven't even _started_ —"

"Lara— _Lara_ , try these!" George hurdled forward from the couch, taking a seat on the coffee table in front of the armchair and holding out his hand. In his palm were two red and green stripy sticks, at least six inches long.

"Absolutely not."

"Oh, come _on_ ," he said, presenting the sticks to her dramatically. "They're delicious, I swear—"

"I'll try," offered Stan, and George scrambled over to him with the sticks.

Stan picked one up and eyed it cautiously before shrugging and taking a large bite. For a moment, nothing happened, and Stan nodded, looking impressed. "These are amazing, mate. Is it apple and strawberry? Good combin— _hissssss_ —combi— _hissss_ —com— _hissssss_ —"

The group around the fire laughed as Stan began to hiss like a snake. Grabbing his throat, Stan's eyes widened as his tongue suddenly popped out of his mouth, thin and fork-like, wiggling in the air as if trying to catch a fly.

"Nautious Jumping Snakes," George grinned as Stan stared at his tongue in awe. "Partially inspired by Harry, who was known exclusively as _The Heir of Slytherin_ during his second year."

"If this is your homage to him for the Triwizard Tournament, I don't think he'll appreciate it," smirked Angelina.

"Well, it started out as turning someone into a lion," Fred said. "But a snake's funnier—look at that _tongue_."

Stan's tongue was now shooting in and out of his mouth with a strange whistling noise. The tip touched Alicia's hand; she squealed and scrambled towards the armchair, her expression one of extreme offence.

It took over an hour for Stan's snake-like tendencies to disappear. Fred and George were over the moon, already planning how they were going to distribute the sweets to the masses, and Alicia called them losers and went to bed, Angelina in tow. Stan and Erin began to work on their Transfiguration essays. Eventually, George got sick of the business talk and went to annoy Lee, who was half-asleep on the rug.

Lara immediately jumped into his previous seat, sitting cross-legged on the couch as she faced Fred, who raised his eyebrows amusedly. "Evening, Culpepper," he smirked wickedly. "What's up?"

"Nothing much…I feel like I haven't spoken to you for a while, is all," Lara shrugged, trying to sound cool and casual, when in reality the fact that he hadn't bothered with her since their Hogsmeade 'date' made her chest ache.

"Well, you've been busy, haven't you?" grinned Fred, though it seemed rather strained.

"With N.E.W.T.S.?

"That and…well, y'know. Brentford."

Lara's heart jumped in her chest; she hadn't thought about David for weeks now, not since she'd talked to George at the Second Task. With all the exam prep and homework she had, dealing with the 'David Situation' had taken a backseat.

"I haven't seen him for weeks," she said, shuffling uneasily. "Not since our date, actually."

"But you're still seeing him?"

"Well…technically, I guess. We haven't—"

"That's, what? Three months now? Good going, Culpepper."

"But—"

"I better get to bed," Fred jumped to his feet, stretching and yawning overdramatically. "Big day of pranks tomorrow. G'night."

He walked off, hands in his pockets, up the stairs to his dormitory. Lara could only stare after him, frozen in shock at his abruptness. After a moment, she let out a scoff of disbelief and turned towards Erin, as if her best friend would throw her a bone and clear up the situation. However, Erin was still engrossed in her essay and hadn't even noticed Fred and Lara's interaction.

George had, though. Lara could see him looking at her from the corner of his eyes. When their stares met, George gave her a sheepish smile. This only annoyed her more and, huffing a 'goodnight' towards her friends, she went upstairs to bed.

She didn't see Fred for the next two days, though she saw the remnants of his existence. On Tuesday morning, Snape's office was filled with toilet paper and sticky goo that plopped onto the Professor's head as he walked through the door, and on the evening Lara returned from the library to find at least a dozen first and second years pretending to be snakes, their forked tongues bursting from their mouths as they hissed. In the background, Patricia Stimpson, the sixth year prefect, was trying to diffuse the situation by guessing a counter-hex, but all she did was turn a little girl purple and they both promptly burst into tears.

On Wednesday, during lunch, about thirty people turned into yellow canaries, including Professor Flitwick. When the Charms Professor was turned back into himself by Professor McGonagall, he declared the stunt, "An _impressive_ bit of magic," and went back to his food, ignoring the dozens of students still hopping around the Great Hall in their bird forms.

Lara was still laughing at bird-Amanda jumping up and down the Gryffindor table, her beak snapping together angrily, as she walked to the library. Amanda had only just turned back into her human form seconds before, spluttering and making gagging sounds as she complained about feathers being lodged in her throat. Unfortunately, this only made Lara more amused, and she had to leave before Amanda hexed her into oblivion, a giggling Stan at her side.

"As if they pranked over two dozen people and they weren't even at lunch," Stan sighed wistfully as they strolled through the hallways. "How do they _do_ it?"

"Probably broke into the kitchens," Lara guessed, still chuckling.

"They'll end up billionaires, those two, I swear. They might not care about N.E.W.T.S. but they're bloody geniuses."

"I think their talents lie beyond academia."

"Too cool for school," grinned Stan, wiggling his eyebrows. "People used to say that about Orsino, too."

" _Nobody_ says too cool for school, Stan—"

" _Lara_!" a voice echoed down the hallway, making the two friends jump in surprise. "I'm so glad we've ran into each other."

Lara felt her stomach drop as she looked over and saw David heading her way, a smile on his face. She looked to Stan in panic, but he just stared back in confusion. Lara cursed; she hadn't told her friends that she was planning to break it off with David. Honestly, she just hadn't had the time, and with everyone stressed about N.E.W.T.S. her boy drama didn't seem important.

"H _eyyy_ ," Lara said slowly, turning back towards David. "What're you doing here?"

"I was just heading into the library," he motioned towards the closed double doors. "I was hoping to find you, actually. Duncan said he saw you in there yesterday night."

"Oh, eh…right."

An awkward silence pulsed between the three seventh years. Lara gulped, her mouth suddenly dry, as she hugged her books to her chest. She knew that she had to talk to David sooner or later, but she hadn't expected to run into him _tonight._ Her plan was to seek him out later next week, once she had all of her homework out of the way…or maybe not at all, and hope he forgot about her…

"I'll wait for you in the library," said Stan, awkwardly rushing off and throwing Lara a wide-eyed look over his shoulder.

David waited until he'd gone to say, "So…it's been a while, huh?"

"Just a bit," Lara agreed. "Been busy…N.E.W.T.S. and all…"

"Yeah, of course."

Another stretch of silence engulfed them. Lara truly had nothing to say; in fact, she could barely look at him. Her talk with George had only increased her uneasy feelings about the Hufflepuff, and something about him gave her the creeps.

"So there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up soon," David said, his voice piecing in the empty hallway. "I was thinking we should go together."

Lara wanted a black hole to open up and swallow her whole. She'd _never_ broken-up with someone before—not that she and David were really going out. Still, they'd been hanging out since Christmas and they'd been on a date…a disastrous, _disastrous_ date. They were _something_ (romantically involved? Romantically interested? Lara had no idea) and that something had to stop, and _she_ had to be the one to do it.

God, what did she _say_?

 _It's not you, it's me._

No, no, wasn't that the _worst_ thing to say? Plus, it was a lie! She was breaking up with him because his weirdness freaked her out. Was that his fault or hers? Was he at fault for making strange comments, or was she at fault for finding them strange in the first place?

 _Bloody hell—WHAT DID SHE SAY?_

"I, eh…" Lara muttered, because David was still waiting for a reply. "I…don't think so."

David blanched; he clearly hadn't expected her to say that. "…I'm sorry?"

"I just…" she paused, racking her brain for something to say. She decided to go with the truth. "I don't think we're a good match, David. I think the date was proof of that…"

"What do you mean?"

"Well…it wasn't a _good_ date, was it?"

"I…" David looked utterly astounded. "Wasn't it? I thought it went great…"

"It was awkward." Lara breathed. "And…we didn't want to do the same things…"

"Aren't all first dates awkward?"

"I suppose."

"So why don't we give it another try—"

" _No_ ," Lara whispered, horrified by the thought. "I really don't think that's a good idea."

David's expression went from bewilderment to anger. " _Why_? What the hell did I do that was so _bad_?"

"I just think we're different people—"

"Obviously," he snapped, scoffing loudly. "Don't be so dense. You obviously have some _issues_ that you need to sort out—"

"That _I_ need to sort out?" Lara's anger also came to the surface and she glared at him heatedly. " _You're_ the one with the issues, David. What the hell was all that stuff about blood-purity—"

" _That_ was your problem?" he shouted, advancing towards her. "That I asked you about your _family_? I was just trying to act interested in your stupid _life_ , you bint—"

"You weren't interested in my _life_ , you we're interested in _how_ I'm a pure-blood—and don't call me a bint, you prat—"

"Girls are so condescending these days— _boys are so mean! Boys are so stupid! They only want one thing!_ That's all you lot go on about, so I take you on a _date_ , I act like a gentleman, I ask you _questions_ and you're _still_ not satisfied—"

"First of all; that's _ridiculously_ sexist. Second of all; you _bragged_ about the fact that your kids would be considered pure-blood! _There'd be no muggle's on either side of the family tree_ or whatever the hell you said! Why the hell does _that_ matter—"

"Don't quote me in that stupid accent—"

"STUPID ACCENT? I'm _Northern_ —"

"You sound like an ignoramus—"

" _And you sound like a pompous wanker, but you don't hear me complaining_ —"

"What the hell's going on?" Stan suddenly appeared in the hallway, eyebrows knitted together in concern. "Everyone in the library can hear you guys screaming at each other—"

"She's a touchy little floozie, that's what—"

" _Floozie_? Who even _says_ that anymore—"

"Watch your mouth, Brentford," Stan growled, stepping forward with clenched fists. "Otherwise I'll make sure you won't be able to talk again."

"Oh, yeah?" David huffed cockily. "And how will you do that?"

"I'll knock out your damn teeth, you twat," Stan spat. "And then rip out your tongue, chop it up and make you _eat_ it—"

" _Oo_ kay," Lara cringed, rushing towards the boys as they sized each other up; she'd forgotten how creative Stan could get with his threats. "I think we should just walk away."

"No, I think we should stay and see what happens," said Stan, pushing up the sleeves of his t-shirt. "Come on, Brentford. I grew up with two older brothers, I learnt pretty quickly how to hold my own. I can get you in a headlock and fart in your mouth at the same time."

"Merlin," Lara whispered and smacked her hand to her face.

"I'm not sinking to your level, Thruston," David said, trying to sound annoyed, but his panicked expression showed his true feelings. "I'm leaving with my dignity. You stay with your slutty little friend—"

And that was when Stan punched him in the face.

" _Bugger_." Lara hissed as David stumbled backwards, holding his bloody nose. "Oh my _God_ —Stan!"

"What?" Stan said, as if he'd merely stolen a chip from her plate.

"You've broke his nose, you _dolt_ —"

"He deserved it," Stan looked unconcerned.

In the background, David was moaning, red liquid pouring down his face and onto his grey t-shirt. Lara rushed over with her wand. "Here, let me fix it—"

"Bugger _off_ ," David grumbled and pushed her away. "I shoub'be bnownb—"

"Eh…what?"

David spat a little pool of blood near her foot, then grabbed his things and stalked away. Lara watched him go with a grimace.

"You'll get detention," she sighed, turning to Stan.

"Worth it," he shrugged. "He won't say anything, anyway. Otherwise people will ask _why_ I punched him, and he won't look good."

"Well…thank you," she threw him a small grin. "For defending my honour."

"Feel free to spread it across the school. The ladies will think I'm a knight in shining armour."

"I'll make sure to do that—stop _flexing_."

Stan grinned and tightened his bicep muscle again. "Is this not doing anything for you?"

"Not even slightly."

"Adela thinks it's cute."

"Adela wants to get into your pants," smirked Lara. "Can you believe he insulted my accent?"

"It does get pretty strong when you're angry."

Lara rolled her eyes. "I take back my gratitude."

"After I defended your besmirched honour," he sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders; Lara snorted into his armpit. "Now, if you're quite finished getting into fights with Hufflepuff's, we have DADA essays to write."

* * *

The 1st of April was a date that was both dreaded and hotly anticipated across the Hogwarts castle. Not only because it was April Fool's Day, but also because it was Fred and George Weasley's birthday.

Every year, without fail, they pulled pranks from dawn until midnight, all across the school. Nobody was safe, not even the teachers (which Snape found out the hard way), and those who disliked pranks usually spent the whole day in their common rooms, hiding from the identical menaces and expressing how eternally grateful they were that April Fool's _always_ landed during the Easter holidays so they didn't get pranked during class.

For the Gryffindor's, however, hiding was not an option. Fred and George had free range of the common room and it was always one of the places they hit. The Gryffindor girls were slightly better off than the boys; if they stayed in their dormitories, the twins couldn't get to them thanks to the sliding staircase. Some actually chose to stay in their dorms for the day, surrounded by an emergency pack of sweets and chocolate, just waiting for the day to be over. Patricia Stimpson was one of these girls; she had a bag of food dedicated to what she called 'Doomsday', which she set at the end of her bed while she did homework for fourteen hours straight.

After a disaster with a firework, a chicken and pepper spray (don't ask), Fiona Gerald also chose to stay in bed.

"Not after last time," she said with a shiver, sinking further into her covers. "I might have to pay for therapy when I'm older."

"Fiona…what happened—"

" _No_. Never. Move on."

Erin sighed and left the dorm, grumbling under her breath, "I'll get it out of her one day."

"No you won't," Lara grinned. "She'll take it to the grave."

"I'll stay friends with her until her deathbed, make sure I live longer, and ask—"

Erin stopped talking as they walked into the common room as, by the looks of things, Fred and George were already awake. Everything, from the rugs to the light shade, was wrapped in Clingfilm, shiny and reflective in the light. People were slithering off the couches, the mixture of their clothes and the slippery material making a squeaking sound that echoed through the room. A few girls were trying to do homework in the corner, but their scrolls kept sticking to the Clingfilm. In the corner, a group of boys were pouring water onto the floor, marvelling at how it pooled on the surface.

"Dear God," whispered Erin, sounding horrified. "Dear _God_."

"Can't you rip it off—"

"Sticking Charm," called Neville Longbottom, who was awkwardly slipping off the couch. "It doesn't wear off for another few hours."

"Where are they?"

"At lunch."

Erin and Lara walked down to the Great Hall, where Fred and George sat surrounded by friends and family. They seemed to be singing and dancing with their little sister, Ginny. The people around them were laughing happily as they watched the three siblings jump and gyrate.

" _I'm too sexy for my shirt,  
Too sexy for my shirt,  
So sexy it hurts,  
And I'm too sexy for Milan,  
Too sexy for Milan_."

"I regret teaching you this song!" whined Stan, putting his face into his hands. "Stop _wiggling_ , Fred—"

Fred simply ignored him and continued to thrust into the air.

" _I'm too sexy for my shirt,_

 _Too sexy for my shirt_ —"

"Happy birthday!" Erin yelled out and the three siblings stopped dancing to look at her. "Come here, you two—"

The twins' faces scrunched as she kissed them on a cheek each. The crowd looked both relieved and disappointed they'd stopped dancing.

"Happy birthday," Lara sniggered, taking George into a hug as Erin fussed over Fred. "The big one-seven."

"Don't remind me," huffed George. "I could enter the Tournament now."

"But the beard looked so good on you."

George gave her an unimpressed look and reached to flick her nose. "I'll grow one when we're old and grey, just for you."

"You say that as if I won't be in Australia hiding from you and your annoyingness."

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood, Culpepper."

She grinned as he ruffled her hair. Diving to get away from him, Lara found herself face-to-face with Fred, who had squirmed his way out of Erin's clutches. For a moment, Lara just stared at him; after their mini-fight/tension/clash/dispute thing in the common room, she wasn't even sure if they were friends anymore.

Then suddenly, Fred grinned and took one large step, engulfing her in his arms. She was so shocked that she ended up crushed against his chest, her face pressed against his thick shoulder.

"Happy birthday, Freddy," she said, her voice muffled by him.

"Cheers, Culpepper," he squeezed her extra tight for a second, then released and stepped back. "Did you like the Clingfilm?"

"Very creative," Lara nodded. "Some boys were doing a makeshift pool in the corner, too, so that'll be fun."

"It's just the start."

Lara's eyes narrowed. "What else have you got planned?"

"That would be telling," he patted her head like a dog, to which she rolled her eyes. "Just keep your eyes peeled."

By evening, in which Fred and George retired to the common room with their friends and family (the Sticky Charm having worn off; the Clingfilm disposed of by a harassed and unimpressed Hermione Granger), Lara had realised just how much weight Fred's warning carried.

After lunch, the boys had somehow broke into the Slytherin common room, let off dungbombs, released transfigured snakes and made a sludge that both stuck to everything like glue and also glowed in the dark (the Slytherin's came to dinner that night reminding Lara of smelly disco balls). They scared at least three dozen students with fake creepy crawlies—Glenn Chan had screamed so shrilly, The Fat Lady was slightly jealous—and covered the boys toilet seats in magiglue, which could only be taken off with a counter-cream Madam Pomfrey stocked. Professor Flitwick's office was covered in post-it notes (which he said was, "A delight.") and they gave Seamus Finnigan a love potion which made him follow McGonagall around all day asking her to marry him.

"Mr Finnigan," she'd said patiently, her lips pursed. "You are simply not my type."

At dinner, they threw mini-bombs into the bowls of food, making it explode everywhere. By the end of the meal, the whole school looked like they'd participated in a very elaborate food-fight. Then, while hanging out on the Quidditch Pitch, they'd charmed fireworks to say rude words and naughty limericks, which could easily be seen back at the castle (unbeknownst to them, the Beauxbatons students were simply horrified). And, finally, on the way back to the common room, they put globs of superglue onto the floor for people to get stuck in during the night, probably to be caught by Filch or Mrs Norris.

"One of our more evil pranks," George said on the walk back to the Gryffindor tower. "But last year we caught Malfoy and it was glorious."

"So we have to risk it again," Fred agreed. "So don't sneak out tonight. Spread the word."

(The next morning, found on top of each other asleep and half-dressed, Allison Sky and Trent Angel's secret relationship would be exposed to the school when they were found by the Head Girl—but nobody knew that yet.)

As the group stepped into the common room, Erin grabbed Lara's arm and said, "Shall I get their present from the dorm?"

"Yeah," Lara grinned. "I'm glad we didn't give them it this-morning—imagine the carnage."

"The castle wouldn't be standing."

Entering the common room, Erin rushed towards the stairs and Lara perched herself onto the coffee table, awaiting the return of her best friend. Erin appeared two minutes later, a tiny package in her hand and a smirk on her face.

"Guys, Erin and I bought you something," Lara said, fighting to keep her expression stoic. "Just a little present."

George immediately straightened and held out his hands like an impatient toddler. "Gimme, gimme."

"We hope you like it," Erin said and Lara could tell she was fighting back a giggle. "We put a lot of thought into it."

The twins exchanged slightly dubious looks as they examined the tiny package in George's hand. Slowly, George tore off the paper, revealing a small white box. Fred reached over to take off the lid.

"Oh." Fred breathed. "Oh, eh…it's lovely…"

"Yeah it's…what _is_ it?"

"A keyring!" chirped Erin, clapping her hands together excitedly. "A lion, obviously."

Fred pulled the small keyring from the box and stared at it. He had a forced happy smile on his face, but his knitted eyebrows gave away his uncertainty. "It's a lion," he whispered to George, presenting it to his twin. "A _lion_."

"Eh…yeah. Lovely," George grumbled.

"Click the button on the side," Lara said. "It roars."

George unenthusiastically reached up to do so. The second his finger touched it, the lion flew out of Fred's hand and into the air, exploding into a multitude of colours that rained down on the twins' flabbergasted faces. The little white box on George's knee began to contort, twisting and swirling until it was at least twenty times the size. Everyone stared at it, wide-eyed, as the large box filled with a variety of rockets, pinwheels, explosives and sparklers.

Lara and Erin laughed as the twins slowly turned to look at them, jaws dropped and a blank sort of surprise in their eyes.

"We just wanted to know what you'd do if you got a shit present," Erin sniggered. "You're both terrible actors."

"You didn't think we'd _really_ get you a keyring, did you?" smirked Lara, raising her eyebrows.

"You two are evil," George murmured.

"Evil geniuses," Fred grinned and reached into the box, grabbing the contents between his fingers. "Look at all these _fireworks_."

Alicia groaned from the floor. "What have you two _done_?"

"We've ruined the school and your lives," chirped Erin. "You are _welcome_."

"Is there a rocket to throw at people in there?" Stan asked, peering over Fred's shoulder into the box. "Hey, La, shall we use one on Brentford? Get it to chase his sorry arse across the Entrance Hall?"

"Brentford?" Angelina said interestedly. "Why? What's happened?"

Lara threw Stan an annoyed look, but he simply ignored her. "He was an arsehole to Lara the other day when she broke-up with him— _oooh_ , look, premium killer explosions. I reckon that will get him running…"

"You _broke up with him_?" Erin squeaked.

"No!" Lara said, her voice severely high-pitched. "We weren't really going out, we only had one date—"

"Why didn't you _tell_ me—"

"You're not seeing Brentford anymore?" Fred suddenly spoke, his voice even and direct.

Lara's eyes snapped to him, only to find him staring at her, his hands half-buried in the firework box. Something about the intensity of his gaze made her heart flip in her chest. "No," she breathed, not breaking eye contact. "I'm not."

"Why?"

"It…didn't work out the way I thought it would," she awkwardly tugged on the ends of her hair. "Our personalities…clashed."

Slowly, Fred's face broke out into a grin. A wide, joyful grin that reminded her of last year, back when they first became friends. She'd always loved his smile, but seeing it so suddenly, so directly after months of distance, took her breath away.

"What do you mean he was an arsehole to her?" George asked, looking to Stan. "Explain the details."

"He called her a bint and said something about her being a sensitive floozie. And then he called her a slut—oh, he insulted her accent, too."

"A _slut_?" Katie Bell repeated, outraged. "Does he _want_ me to break his kneecaps?"

"I was more insulted by the accent thing, to be honest," muttered Lara, crossing her arms huffily.

"Well, isn't that interesting," George turned towards his twin, an evil glint in his eyes. "What do you reckon, Fred?"

"I reckon Brentford needs to be taught some manners," Fred eyed a particularly large firework dangerously. "Don't you?"

"Mum taught us to be perfect gentleman. It's only fair we share the knowledge."

"Doing him a favour, really."

"Exactly," George wiggled his eyebrows with a smirk. "Mum would be proud."

"Eh…" Lara gulped, holding up her hand anxiously. "What are you going to do?"

"Leave it to us," Fred chirruped, turning towards her with a beam and sparkling eyes. "You don't need to worry about a thing."

"Yeah, we've got this," George began to twirl a sparkler between his fingers. Then, shaking his head, he grinned and addressed his friends and family. "Sparkler, anyone? Hand them out…hand them out…"

Lara wanted to be worried. She wanted to tell them not to be too harsh on David, who had said most of his insults out of anger and pain. But when Fred sat beside her and handed her a sparkler, that wide grin on his face…she found she couldn't really say any words at all.

* * *

 _Annnnnd David and Lara are over for good! It won't be the last time we see of him, but that's for later. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Next chapter the twins get their revenge on David, but it might not be what you're expecting..._


	15. Mrs Weasley doesn't swear

_Swear warning._

 **...**

 **Chapter 15.**

 _Mrs Weasley doesn't swear_

 _April._

The twins didn't take revenge on David for over a week. Every day, Lara woke up expecting to find him bright purple or throwing up slugs in the middle of the Great Hall, but he was fine. He walked around with a smirk on his face, glaring at Stan and whispering about Lara with his friends. Sometimes, when she looked up and caught his eye, he'd make a big show of pointing at her and laughing while nudging the person beside him. One time, he gave her the finger.

Erin thought it was utterly childish. Stan offered to break his nose again.

But Fred and George had the worst reaction; as in, they barely did anything at all. They ignored him and rolled their eyes sometimes. When he gave her the finger, George gave him two back. Apart from that, they didn't do much at all.

It was unnerving. Lara was pretty sure they were planning something, though they never shared what it was, and when she asked they'd just tap their noses and shake their heads. Angelina started to wonder if they'd finally grown up and matured. After a few days, Alicia began to say it, too. In fact, on the first day back at school during breakfast, she was sat talking about how proud she was of them.

"I think they're starting to listen to their mother," she said, digging her knife into a raspberry jam jar. "I actually feel like sending her a letter— _hey Mrs Weasley, your boys have grown up, can you believe it?_ "

"She'll faint on the spot," chuckled Angelina. "Or send a letter back saying _bullshit_."

"Mrs Weasley doesn't _swear_."

Erin snorted into her pumpkin juice. "All mums swear behind closed doors—or when they're angry."

"My mum just swears anyway," Stan grinned. "Calls me a little shit all the time."

"Don't blame her," Lara teased. "I would, too."

"Where _are_ Fred and George, anyway?" Amanda asked, glancing down the table. "I feel like they've been extremely quiet lately."

"I haven't seen them since Saturday," Omar replied suspiciously. "Has anyone else saw them…?"

The group glanced at each other. Several shrugged; Erin's lips pursed. The sinking feeling Lara had had in her stomach all week returned. She knew they were up to _something_. Their quietness and sneaking around was just proof of that. It seemed like Angelina and Alicia were starting to see this, as the former put her head into her hands and the latter handled her knife a little _too_ enthusiastically.

Fifteen minutes later, the seventh years headed to Transfiguration. Lara sat at her usual table with Erin, in front of Omar and Stan with Amanda to the right with another Ravenclaw girl, when David entered the room with his friends. Unlike the previous days, he didn't spare a look towards Stan or Lara. He kept his head down and walked straight to a table, his head in his hands.

Erin, who was half-turned towards Omar and Stan, inclined her head to Lara. "What's up with Dreary?"

"I dunno," whispered Lara, determinedly scribbling on her paper. "I try not to look at him."

"Since when did he wear a beanie?"

"I don't _know_ —"

"Good morning seventh years," McGonagall swept into the room, her navy robes billowing across the floor. "I hope you all had a relaxing Easter."

There were murmurs of agreement and a few people snorted incredulously (for they'd gotten far too much homework to _really_ enjoy the holiday).

"Now you've had a break, however, I expect you all to be on top academic form. N.E.W.T.S. start in a mere six _weeks_. Your Transfiguration exam is in two months' time, and you know I have high expectations for each and every one of you, as, I'm sure, do your other Professors. Now, today we're going to—Mr Brentford, I do not permit hats in my classroom," McGonagall set her stoic eyes onto David, her right eyebrow raising.

"I…it's a bit chilly, Professor—"

"Mr Brentford," McGonagall replied evenly. "It is not one rule for you, another rule for everyone else. Kindly remove the hat."

David gulped and stared up at the Professor with wide-eyes, almost as if he expected her to change her mind. When she simply blinked, he slowly reached up and grabbed his dark brown beanie, tugging it off his head.

The students gasped; a few girls let out squeaks. One of David's friends let out a nervous laugh and smacked his hand to his mouth. David flushed under the scrutiny and ducked his head, reaching up to cover his forehead with his hand.

For, on the skin there in large, black, bold letters, was the word 'SLUT'.

"Oh my _God_ ," Erin murmured, sounding thoroughly amused. "I _knew_ those boys weren't done with their pranks."

"This isn't a prank," grinned Stan. "This is sweet, sweet revenge."

Omar hummed and licked his lips. "Revenge tastes like caramel."

"Mr Brentford," McGonagall said sharply. " _What_ happened?"

"I don't know, Professor," he responded quietly. "I woke up this-morning and it won't come off. I've tried everything."

"But why—"

"Because he's using the word when he shouldn't—"

" _Stan_." Lara hissed, whipping around in her seat to grab his arm. "No, don't."

Stan nodded, although he looked disgruntled, and turned back towards the Professor. McGonagall was staring at them, her eyes narrowed in deep thought, and she glanced from Stan to Lara to David, then back again.

"Very well," the Professor said. "Let's continue with the lesson."

"But—Professor, can't you remove it—"

"No." She answered David's plea, already walking away and not looking back. "Now, today we're working on the Conjuring Spell…"

Erin turned towards the front, a shit-eating grin on her face. Peering at Lara from the corner of her eyes, she said, "God bless McGonagall."

Lara smirked into her hand.

At the end of the lesson, David pulled his beanie back on. However, thanks to the seventh year Transfiguration class, the whole school knew about his new ink by lunch time. Most people talked about it behind his back, but a few were more overt, and all of them were either Gryffindor's or Slytherin's. Gryffindor's asked to see it; Slytherin's made rude hand gestures and pointed.

Lara actually felt a little sorry for the guy. The story of _why_ the word was on his forehead had spread across the school (Lara suspected Angelina, maybe Amanda), and nobody was happy. Several girls had confronted him in anger, demanding to know why he thought it was okay for him to demean girls that way. Boys just thought he was a stupid bastard.

"He's an idiot," Lara overheard some Ravenclaw boys say. "You _never_ let a girl hear you say that. He's never going to get laid now."

"But isn't that the point?" another said with a smirk. "He _doesn't_ get laid—that's why he used it in the first place. Bitter he can't get any and the girls can."

After eavesdropping on this conversation, Stan laughed for a good ten minutes.

"Ravenclaws," he said, wiping tears from his eyes. "They're great sometimes."

Lara sighed as they entered the Great Hall. Looking around, she couldn't spot David anywhere, but she _could_ see two identical ginger heads at the Gryffindor table, surrounded by laughing friends.

"What did you two _do_?" Lara said, slamming her things down onto the table. "The poor guy is being tortured!"

" _Poor guy_ ," Alicia repeated disbelievingly. "He called you a slut!"

"It was said out of anger—"

"Even so," Angelina shrugged. "It's not okay. It's not his place to say shit like that."

"It's not _anyone's_ place," said Erin.

"Plus, he needs to learn it's a bad word," George said and took another bite of food, grinning towards Lara unconcernedly.

Fred nodded. "Exactly. He should count himself lucky we didn't wash his mouth out with soap."

"You lot are crazy," Lara said, reaching for some chicken legs. "How long will the ink last?"

"Only a day," answered Lee.

"It's just to teach him a lesson," Fred continued nonchalantly. "I think we can be assured he won't say it again."

"I don't think he'd dare," smirked Amanda, and the group of friends smiled in silent agreement.

Lara shook her head and took a bite of her chicken leg; she joked about it sometimes, but…she was beginning to wonder if her friends really _were_ evil geniuses.

* * *

 **...**

Tapping her fingers rhythmically against the arm of her chair, Lara glanced around the small room. She hadn't been to McGonagall's office for years, not since her grandmother died and she was called here for a pep talk from her Head of House. Despite three years having passed, it looked much the same; a large stone fireplace took up much of the back wall, two chairs sat in front of the crackling fire, and bookcases were dotted around the room, filled to the brim with hardcovers and old looking scrolls. In the corner, a closed door led to a bedroom.

"Right, Culpepper," McGonagall suddenly spoke, knocking Lara out of her daze. "According to your fifth year career's interview, you were interested in being a Magizoologist. Is that still correct?"

"Yes, Professor," Lara nodded quickly. "My brother said I can be his assistant as soon as I graduate. It'll take me two years to qualify, then I'll work my way up the ranks. Walter and I have always talked about running the Beast Division together."

McGonagall's lips ghosted into the hint of a smile. "I'm sure you'll do a fine job together," she said, then peered at Lara over her glasses. "However, I have to say Miss Culpepper, with your grades, you could stretch your ambitions much further."

"I'm sorry, Professor?"

"You're on track for O's and E's in all of your lessons, including Transfiguration now you've improved your writing technique," McGonagall swiftly flipped through some files. "I feel obliged to say that you could do almost anything—including, may I say, an Auror."

For a moment, Lara was too stunned to reply. "An _Auror_?" she spluttered, sitting straight in her chair. "I've never—I mean, don't you have to be _really_ smart to do that—"

"You need five N.E.W.T.S. and at least two of them need to be at an 'Outstanding' level. I'm fairly confident you'll achieve that in Alchemy and Care of Magical Creatures."

"I don't take Potions—"

"Subjects are _recommended_ , not required. Alchemy is a satisfactory substitution for Potions…though Professor Snape may disagree."

"Holy—mushrooms," Lara said and then cringed sheepishly. "Sorry, but, eh…I've never really thought about it. I've always wanted to work with animals."

"Of course, if working with animals is truly what you want, I encourage you to do that," McGonagall said. "But I felt compelled to inform you of all your options."

"Thanks, Professor," Lara grinned slightly. "It's given me something to think about…and I appreciate that you have this much confidence in me."

"I want all of my students to achieve their highest capabilities," McGonagall stopped writing on her scroll for a moment and looked up, piercing Lara with a stare. "For what it's worth, I think you'd make a fantastic Auror, Culpepper. And Professor Flitwick is inclined to agree with me," her lips twitched slightly before she looked back down at her paper. "You're dismissed. Can you send Miss Dawn in, please?"

Lara nodded and got to her feet, walking out of the room on slightly shaky legs. Once Alexa had rushed off into the office, slamming the door behind her, Lara headed towards the common room, lost in thought.

All her life, she'd wanted to work with animals. Her maternal grandparents had had a crup, Goober, and he'd been Lara's best friend growing up, especially when Walter went off to Hogwarts. She remembered laying with him in front of the fire, stroking his soft head, giggling away as he tried to lick her palm. He'd made her so happy that she wanted to feel like that forever, so working with animals was the only thing that made sense.

Goober died from old age when she was eleven, two months before Lara was due to start Hogwarts. Walter had comforted her by promising she would have loads of fun at school, _especially_ in Care of Magical Creatures, where she got to look after loads of amazing creatures, ones she'd never even heard of before. He was right, of course; Care of Magical Creatures had always been her favourite lesson and still was to this day. Plus, she was _good_ at it. She'd achieved an 'O' in O.W.L.S. and was on track to get the same in her N.E.W.T.S.—so wasn't becoming a Magizoologist just a natural progression?

But she'd never given becoming an Auror a thought. It always seemed out of reach, too dangerous, too high-class for Lara to even consider as a career. It was what _other_ people did. Brave, reckless, intelligent people, all of which Lara wasn't…or was she? McGonagall seemed to think so, and apparently so did Flitwick. If _two_ of her Professors thought she was good enough, did that mean she should go for it?

Then again, was it smart to put her whole future into uncertainty because of the opinions of two people? She had what most people didn't; a job waiting for her after graduation, where she could work her way up the ranks quite fast. Plus, she and Walter would work together, and after years of being separated by Hogwarts, it would be great to spend time with him…

" _Girl_ , I asked for the password."

Lara looked up and blinked at The Fat Lady, who was glaring down at her. "Oh, sorry. Phoenix feather."

The portrait swung open and Lara stepped through. All the seventh years were waiting in the Entrance Hall for their career's advice interview, so Lara didn't expect them to be around. However, the sixth years were also gone. All except Fred, who was laid on the couch with his arm thrown across his eyes, his face peaceful and breathing deeply.

Lara smiled and conjured up a blanket, throwing it across him, marvelling at his angelic appearance. However, the second the material touched his skin, he shot up into sitting potion. "Holy _shit_ ," he hissed, grappling with the blanket.

"Sorry, sorry!" squeaked Lara, holding out her hands. "I was just covering you up!"

"Growing up with George, you learn to be alert even in your sleep," he laughed, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. "Sorry I nearly gave you a heart attack."

Lara chuckled and exhaled sharply. "That's alright. My fault. I was just trying to be thoughtful."

"That's what you get for being nice."

"Shut up," she reached out to push his forehead as he sniggered. "Next time I'll let you freeze."

"How'd your career thing go?"

"It was…interesting."

"Ambiguous." Fred grinned, pushing himself up and patting the seat in front of her. "Tell me."

"So, I've always wanted to work with animals, specifically the Beast Division in the Ministry with Walter," Lara collapsed into the seat, dropping her backpack onto the ground. "I've never thought about doing anything else, but…with my grades, McGonagall said I could be anything. She more than hinted that I should look into becoming an Auror."

"An _Auror_?"

"Yeah, that was my reaction, too," Lara grinned, resting her head against the back cushions. "I mean, I'm not Auror material. How can she know Moody and _still_ think that someone like me could be an Auror?"

"Maybe she sees a resemblance—kidding, _kidding_ ," he laughed as Lara reached over to thump his arm. "She obviously sees something in you. She usually spends these career's interviews telling people they need to shape up, not encouraging people to be _more_ than they're setting out to be."

"What did she say to you last year?"

"That I'm an idiot who needs to grow up," he smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. "But she used fancy words and metaphors about someone called Peter Pan—anyway, maybe you should give the Auror thing some thought."

"You know me pretty well, right?"

"I'm big-headed enough to assume so, yes."

"Do _you_ think I should be an Auror? Forgetting grades or whatever—just me as a person."

Fred eyed her for a moment, that usual mischievous glint in his brown pupils. Then he reached over, grabbed her hand and said, "Lara, if I was murdered next week, there's no one else I'd rather investigate my demise than you."

"Not even George? Lee? Angelina?"

"They'd mess it up somehow."

"Harry?"

"You can talk it over with him, but you should be the lead."

"He fought a dragon."

"You wore heels to a _dance_ ," replied Fred without hesitation. "There's nothing more reckless and brave than that."

Lara giggled and shook her head. "You're a weirdo, Weasley."

"I'm serious." He awkwardly lifted their joint hands and flopped them back onto the couch. "You'll be great at whatever you wanna do, Culpepper. Auror, Magizoologist, Shop Keeper, Potioneer…whatever."

"That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me," she grinned, fluttering her eyelashes. "And I can't wait to see your shop."

Fred grinned and suddenly looked down at her hand, his thumb reaching to brush over her middle finger. "You're _still_ wearing the ring?" he murmured.

"I told you I'm never taking it off," Lara replied. "Undying love and all that."

"Don't start singing again."

"Don't be so rude," she smirked. "Now David and I didn't work out, that was the highlight of my night. Don't taint it."

Fred hummed uneasily. "Oh, yeah…George told me about the date…the pure-blood thing. He only told me after you called it off, though."

"I'm surprised he didn't tell you straight away, to be honest," grinned Lara. "I know it wasn't a big deal, but I couldn't get it out of my head."

"Well, I suppose it depends on how you look at it. Some people might think he was just curious, but other people—the _smart_ people, like me and you—realise that he's as crazy as a box of frogs and he needs to be avoided like Snape avoids shampoo."

" _Fred_!"

"What? It's true," he smirked, and then he got a very smug look on his face. "So _I_ was your favourite part of the whole ball?"

 _You're my favourite part of the whole year_ , Lara suddenly thought, shocking herself so much she blurted out, " _Angelina_."

"Eh…what about her?"

"Well…she must have been _your_ favourite part, right? She looked beautiful in her dress…"

"She did," nodded Fred. "But we just went as friends."

" _Friends_?"

"Don't sound so disbelieving."

"Disappointed, more than anything. Not even a cheeky snog or—"

"Nothing." He said instantly, though his face was still amused. "She, eh…she actually likes someone else. I found her crying about it one night, so I said I'd make a big deal of asking her out in front of everyone with the hope of making him jealous…I figured it worked for you and Brentford."

"Oh." Lara couldn't explain the weightlessness she felt at that moment, or the warmth in her chest. "I…I hope her crush turns out better than mine did."

"Well, I know the guy pretty well," Fred smirked. "And I'm almost one hundred percent sure that he's not a pure-blood fanatic. Unless he's just a really good actor, but that's giving him more credit than he deserves…"

Several things clicked into place at once; the conversation with Angelina at the dress shop, her disappearance at the Three Broomsticks soon after, her extreme fussing at the Yule Ball, her and Fred's purely platonic relationship…

"She fancies _George_ ," Lara whispered wondrously. " _George_."

Fred didn't reply, but the little smile on his face was more than enough to give Lara her answer.

"Holy shit," Lara breathed and let out an incredulous laugh. "I thought it was Lee she was talking about…and I just assumed she'd gotten over Lee when you asked her to the ball…"

"Nope. She just put on a really good show. And we did have fun, but it was friendly fun. No groping behind the trees or snogging behind statues."

Lara shook her head, still digesting the information. For some reason, she'd convinced herself that Fred and Angelina had snogged or at least kissed at the Yule Ball, despite the fact their behaviour didn't hint at any romance between them. She figured they'd gave it a go and it just didn't work out, so they'd moved on and agreed to stay friends.

Somehow, however, knowing they'd been together had made Fred seem entirely off-limits. Angelina was a good friend and Girl Code was _definitely_ a thing in Lara's eyes. Not dating a friends ex (even ex-kissing partner) was surely at the top of the list. After all, Lara would feel distinctly uncomfortable if Angelina suddenly announced she was seeing David. Mostly because he was an arrogant prat, but still. Girl Code.

But Angelina had never saw Fred romantically. In fact, she saw his _twin_ romantically, which was probably an oxymoron to most, but if anyone could tell the difference between the twins it was Lara. George was more sensitive and sweet, while Fred was fiery and instinctive. It was strange to think of them as totally separate when, mere months before, she wouldn't have been able to tell them apart if her life depended on it. But now, with one of them sat in front of her, holding her hand and delicately playing with her ring, it seemed so _obvious_ that this was Fred.

Wonderful, reckless, funny…single, not-romantically-linked-to-Angelina, Fred.

 _Well_ , Lara thought, eyeing him greedily, taking in his wicked smile and freckled face, his long fingers and beefy shoulders. _Why do I suddenly feel like I'm completely screwed?_

The portrait banged open, making the duo on the couch jump in surprise. Fred dropped her hand in shock and Lara turned away from him, her eyes landing on the Gryffindor sixth years as they entered the common room with arms full of food.

"Afternoon, Culpepper," George grinned, throwing an array of snacks onto her lap. "Glad you're back already—I worried Freddy would wake up and be lonely."

"I can be alone for five minutes, y'know," Fred responded, rolling his eyes. "Plus, I was asleep."

"We know. You looked so peaceful we didn't have the heart to wake you for the kitchens," said Alicia.

"It's the first time you've ever looked slightly innocent and pure," Angelina teased, flopping onto the couch beside Lara and kicking her legs up. "How'd the career's thing go, Lara?"

"Good," Lara grinned widely at the Gryffindor girl who fancied _George_ (not Fred). "I'm pretty simple, really. I already have a job lined up with my brother."

"Our girls gunna be a _dragon tamer_ ," George grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. "One day, she'll let me ride one."

"Excuse _me_ , she will not," spluttered Lara.

"Not even a little one?"

"I'm not even dignifying that with a response—"

"We'll steal one, bro," Fred said, winking at his twin. "She'll never even know."

Lara reached over and flicked his bicep. Fred easily reached up, taking her hand in his and resting them, intertwined, on his lap. Nobody blinked, nobody murmured; George started to choose what dragon he wanted and Angelina struck up a conversation about the summer with Alicia. Lara, however, was having heart palpitations and her whole body felt overly warm—but deep down, it felt natural, it felt _good_.

Goddammit, she really was screwed.

* * *

 _So what did you think of the revenge? I was going to do something with pranks and stuff, but I thought this was more fitting. But maybe I'm harsh._

 _Guys...nearly 100 favourites! That's so insane. I really thought nobody was going to be bothered about this story, so it's amazing to see you guys like it! Well, like it so far, at least. There might be some of you that want to curse me to hell and back later on, but I guess we'll see..._

 _reviews:_

 _pamela hutchins:_ _I know how you feel! I feel like crying at the thought of it too. Sometimes I can't even believe I'm writing this story either cuz I'm also a sucker for happy endings, but I got the idea and it kinda just went from there. It's kind of meant to be a story about love and loss and finding a reason to fight on even when you really just feel like giving up, which will be more apparent later...I hope, anyway. So it's going to follow canon cause I want to explore what happens after the war, but if you guys wanted it I could write a one-shot of if Fred lived? Maybe on a separate story to keep the flow of this one, but I could definitely do it. Maybe like Fred and Lara at King's Cross on the seventeen years later part? Something like that? Let me know what you think x_


	16. Smoke cigars and drink tequila

**...**

 **Chapter 16.**

 _Smoke cigars and drink tequila._

"I just don't understand what I'm meant to do," Erin groaned into her hands a week later. "I need to improve my Potions grade but I can't do it with Snape _breathing down my neck_."

"It does feel like a hurricane sometimes," agreed Lara. "With how big his nose is and all."

"I'm _serious_."

"So am I."

" _How_ am I supposed to get an 'O'?" she hissed, slamming her hands down onto the table. Lara jumped in shock and almost spilled her pumpkin juice into her lap. "How, Lara, _how_?"

"Maybe you should ask Stan for help," Lara said. "I know he's on track for an 'O'. Even Snape can't deny he has talent."

"I didn't even think about that," mumbled Erin. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're panicking."

"Growing up is stressful."

"Wait until Healer school," Lara smirked and Erin gave her an annoyed glare. "Sorry, sorry—listen, Erin. You're one of the smartest people I know and you'll make a _great_ Healer. Even if you don't get an 'O', you can do a foundation course at St Mungo's and work your way up."

Erin let out a small sigh. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Not that you'll need the foundation course. You'll get an 'O', I know you will…I'll confund the examiner."

"Thanks," Erin's lips stretched into a grin. Letting out a long breath, she shook her head and said, "Let's talk about something positive—what do you want to do for your birthday?"

"Smoke cigars and drink tequila."

"That can be arranged—"

"I was joking," Lara chuckled, shrugging as she put her elbows into the table. "I dunno, what do you think?"

Erin pursed her lips in thought, giving Lara a breather and a moment to take a drink. She'd awoken this-morning to find Erin curled up in the foetal position, muttering about N.E.W.T.S. and hooked-nose Professors. Fiona was in the background, screaming about Erin waking her up and ruining her LIFE YOU STUPID PRATT—this was when Lara got up, dressed and dragged Erin to breakfast. She didn't want to be in the middle of _another_ dorm fight; the last one had ended with no eyebrows for Alexa, pink hair for Fiona and scratches across Erin's neck.

The seventh year Gryffindor girls weren't the only ones that were frazzled. Tensions were running high across the whole year, for all genders and houses. The Career's Advice interviews hadn't gone well; most people were told to shape up and work harder, others were blatantly told they'd set their ambitions too high. Only a handful of students had actually had a _good_ interview, among them Lara and Stan, the latter of whom was told if he didn't become a Potioneer, McGonagall would personally hunt him down and take him to the Ministry herself.

Erin had been one of those told to put her head down and focus. She needed an 'O' in Potions and was currently on track for an 'E', and her Herbology grade was at an 'A' and needed to be an 'E'. Professor Sprout agreed to help her improve, but Snape was a different story entirely. When Erin had gone to ask for his help, she'd barely been able to look at him before she spluttered something about the weather and ran out, anxious under his irritated glare. The Slytherin's were the only ones that dared to ask for his help and even then the Professor seemed reluctant, so the other houses didn't have a chance.

Lara felt a little guilty; her friends were all upset and worried about their futures, and Lara was deciding between two—an Auror or a Magizoologist, she still hadn't made up her mind.

"Good morning!" a voice chirped just as Erin opened her mouth to speak. George sat heavily beside Erin, a giant smile on his face. Fred was walking around the table to sit next to Lara. "How are you pretty ladies today?"

"Such a charmer," Erin said, rolling her eyes. "We were—"

"Erin was having a breakdown about her future," Lara interrupted swiftly, throwing Fred a welcoming smile as he sat down. "And I was telling her how amazing she is—how about you guys?"

"Just woke up," answered Fred, reaching for the bacon. "And now I need food."

" _Actually_ ," Erin said and threw Lara a half-hearted scowl. "We were talking about Lara's birthday. Do you guys have any ideas?"

"Birthday?" George squeaked through a mouthful of food. "When'b you birbbday?"

Lara's nose scrunched as food went flying everywhere. "29th of April."

"NEXT _WEEK_ —"

George began to choke on his food, turning bright red in the process. Erin reached over to smack him on the back as Fred turned to Lara, seemingly unconcerned about his twin, and said, "You haven't mentioned anything."

"Well, I'm over seventeen now, aren't I? Birthday's aren't important anymore," Lara shrugged, glancing worriedly towards George. "Georgie, are you okay—"

"All birthdays are important!" said Fred indignantly.

"Eighteen is actually a really big birthday in the muggle world," Erin nodded, rubbing George's back like she was trying to burp a baby. "It's when you can legally drink and vote. It's like turning seventeen in the wizard world."

"Exactly! We'll channel our inner muggle, won't we, George?" Fred turned to his brother, who gave him a thumbs up as he tried to catch his breath. "George is on board. So what're we thinking? Paragliding off the Astronomy Tower? Camping in the Forbidden Forest? Picnic with the Giant Squid?"

"Ooooh, the picnic sounds fun—"

"Absolutely not," Erin snapped and Lara pouted. "I know you say he's harmless, but he's still a _Giant Squid_ and I don't want to be anywhere near him. How about a picnic _beside_ the Black Lake? As in, on the bank?"

"Okay," Lara agreed. "Sounds good—"

"You two work on the picnic," Fred motioned between George and Erin. "And I'll work on getting her a meeting with squidy."

Lara grinned dreamily, then quickly caught herself and grabbed her goblet to take a drink. Ever since her and Fred's conversation in the common room, she'd found herself acting like a gooey schoolgirl around him. Everything he said made her insides jolt and sometimes she'd catch herself staring at him from afar, her heart hammering in her chest and butterflies in her stomach. More than a few times, she'd been so busy paying attention to him that she tripped over her own feet or dropped her books.

It was getting a little ridiculous. Plus, if she didn't stop soon, people were going to catch on…if they hadn't already. Amanda kept giving her a smirk that made Lara feel entirely uncomfortable, like she knew something Lara didn't. And even now, Erin was staring at her confusedly, as if she didn't quite understand why Lara was so jittery.

"Anyway, we best be off," Fred announced, pushing himself up.

George leapt to his feet, nodding. "Good idea, mate."

"Where are you going?" asked Lara.

"To plan your present," they answered together, identical grins on their faces.

They walked away, already muttering hurriedly to each other, and Lara stared after them…or, rather, stared after Fred, who looked positively delicious in his dark jeans and his 'HE DID IT' t-shirt—

"Ooohh," Erin hummed suddenly, breaking Lara from her daze. " _Now_ I get it."

"Get what?"

"Why you're being weirder than usual," grinned Erin. "You _like_ Fred."

Lara spluttered indignantly, but she could feel her whole face heating up. "I—I don't—he's not—"

"Wow, you've got it bad."

"I don't…" Lara cleared her throat awkwardly and reached for her goblet—which she promptly knocked over. "Oh _bugger_ —"

Erin simply picked her wand from her pocket and waved it. The pumpkin juice swiftly cleared from the table and the goblet sat upright again, as if nothing had ever happened. "Don't even deny it," continued Erin without pause. "You just checked out his arse for the world to see."

"God, I know," Lara put her head into her hands. "I feel like an idiot. I'm acting like I did with David. There's honestly something seriously wrong with me."

Erin was quiet for so long, Lara looked up from her hands. Her best friend was chewing on her bottom lip, a smile threatening to burst across her face as she stared at Lara with an overcome expression. "I can't believe you admitted it," Erin beamed, smacking a hand to her mouth. "I've been waiting for this moment for _months_ —oh God, I could cry—"

"Don't be an idiot," grumbled Lara embarrassedly. "And I honestly didn't fancy him until, like, last week. Did you know he and Angelina didn't kiss or anything at the ball?"

"Yeah, they went as friends. Angie told me," Erin nodded. "She said they called it a 'mate date'."

"I thought they'd gone _together_ …like they'd snogged at the ball and decided they were better as friends—"

"Oh, God, no. Angelina doesn't see him like that," there was a pause before Erin continued, "So you found out he and Angelina didn't snog, and now you fancy him?"

"Well, I…I guess so, yeah. I couldn't like someone that my friend has gone out with, you know? It would be weird. Imagine if Angie started dating David."

"Girl code."

Lara nodded agreeably. "Exactly. But now I know they only see each other as friends…"

"You're acting like a banshee on speed."

"Eloquently put."

"Angelina would be over the bloody _moon_ if you and Fred got together," Erin grinned excitedly. "As, may I say, would everyone else."

"This isn't a rom-com, Erin—"

"Hey, some good people have a lot invested in this. Don't ruin it!"

"What do you mean people are _invested_ —"

"Nothing to concern you about," said Erin, waving her hand flippantly. "Why don't you go for it? Just go up and be all _I think your arse is fit_ and snog him senseless—"

"Because I'm not Amanda," Lara responded, huffing slightly. "I don't have the confidence to do that. The very thought makes me want to be sick."

"But—"

" _Plus_ ," Lara interrupted her friend before she could go off on a tirade. "Don't you think we've been friends for too long now? Telling him I like him might just make it really awkward."

"It could," nodded Erin, a smirk playing on her lips, "If he wasn't totally into you, too. Which he _is_."

"Do you think?"

"That boy has wanted to shag you since you snogged at the party."

"Erin!"

"Well, he has. He wants to do other shit like take you on dates or whatever, too, but ultimately…"

Lara couldn't help the grin on her face. "He wants to ravage me in a broom cupboard."

"And everywhere else."

"That's good," Lara whispered, glancing towards the doors where Fred had disappeared, her stomach churning. "'cause I kind of want to ravage him, too."

The happy squeal Erin let out could only be described as deafening.

* * *

 **...**

On the morning of her birthday, Lara was awoken by something soft hitting her in the face. She shot up into sitting position, hastily grabbing whatever the thing was before it fell onto the floor.

"Happy birthday!" screamed Erin as Lara looked down, realising the offending object was, in fact, a wrapped present. "You're getting old, mate."

"Thanks," Lara croaked. "Great start to the day."

"Open it!"

Lara grinned tiredly as Erin jumped onto her bed, eagerly watching as Lara ripped open the paper. Inside the parcel was a long, thick scarf with a checked red and cream pattern. Lara grabbed the material and rubbed it against her face; it was possibly the softest thing she'd ever felt.

"It's made of magically altered soft material or something, so I knew you'd love it," Erin smiled.

"It's so _fluffy_."

"Like hugging a puppy," Erin agreed, reaching for the presents at the end of Lara's bed. "Here, open these, too. I'll help."

She had more presents than Christmas, as her grandparents and extended family had sent little things along with some money. Her parents had bought a variety of clothes, including flowy skirts and pretty dresses that her mam had probably picked out. Walter had gotten her a pink Polaroid camera and some empty films, with a little note that said, _this is so you'll actually take pictures and show mam, 'cause she's doing my bloody head in complaining about you ignoring her. Oh, and happy birthday, little dude._

While Erin played with the camera, Lara got washed and dressed. As she tugged on her boots, a sharp light suddenly flashed throughout the room.

"I wanted to have a go," Erin shrugged unapologetically, taking the film from the camera and wafting it through the air. "You looked good, don't worry."

"It must be the most boring photo _ever_ —"

"I'll use it at your funeral," chirped Erin, leaping to her feet. "Let's go before Amanda accuses me of hogging you."

The girls left the dorm together, inspecting the camera and the photograph, laughing as Lara took a picture of Erin sneezing. Entering the Great Hall, Lara froze when a rendition of the 'Happy Birthday Song' began to bounce off the walls.

" _Happy birthday dear Laaaarrrrraaaaaa,_

 _Happy birthday to you!_ " the group finished, clapping and whooping as Lara hurried over, her face redder than the tomatoes on the table.

"Thanks guys," she grinned at the sixth and seventh years, and the few younger students who had loyally joined in. Lara's closest friends rushed over to give her hugs and hand over presents. "Lee, you sounded particularly melodious."

Lee, who had been singing extremely loud and screech-like, grinned proudly. "Cheers, Culpepper."

"This is from Katie, too," Angelina said as she threw over her and Alicia's present. "We went thirds."

Awkwardly catching the small package, Lara nodded in thanks towards the fifth year, who was a little ways down the table with her friend, Leanne. As Katie beamed in reply, Lara ripped off the paper, opened the small box and found a silver necklace with a large circular pendant hanging off the chain. On the pendant was an intricate drawing of a lions face.

"We were going to get an owl necklace," said Alicia, resting her arms on Angelina's shoulders. "But we figured that was too Ravenclaw, so we looked for a lion, instead."

"The Ravenclaw animal is an eagle," Amanda sighed despondently.

"They're both birds."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "On that note—here, Lara. Happy birthday!"

She had, of course, gotten Lara a book, though it was on animals and different varieties of plants. Just as Lara thanked the girls, the boys began handing over their presents, which was mostly sweets and chocolate. The twins, to everyone's surprise, handed over a tiny, messily wrapped package. Just as Lara was about to pull off the lid, George spoke;

"They're to go with the ring."

"Thought it made sense considering you never take the bloody thing off," smirked Fred, glancing down at the ring on Lara's right middle finger.

The small box held a pair of silver, heart-shaped earrings. Once again, Lara felt slightly overcome with emotion as she picked the jewellery up with her fingers, delicately placing the studs in her earlobes. "You guys are the best at presents," she said, slightly choked-up. "All of you, that is. Everything's brilliant. Thank you."

"That's not even the best bit," George grinned, twisting around to grab something from the floor. Turning back, he slammed a wicker basket down onto the table and cried, "Picnic food!"

"We had to go to the kitchens to get it," Erin beamed. "I met the most delightful little house elf. Dobby, I think his name was. He loves George 'cause Ron gave him a jumper."

"His new one, too," muttered George to Fred. "Best not tell mum."

Fred nodded. "She'll go spare—hey, Jordan, hands off the basket!"

Lee snatched his hand away from the food with a sheepish grin. As the boys bickered amongst themselves, Lara ate some breakfast and allowed Angelina to have a go of her camera. She took two pictures—one of Alicia and Katie, another of Lara and Erin—before the group decided to head for the Black Lake. Lara walked arm-in-arm with Amanda, filling her in on what presents she'd received from her family.

Down by the river bank, several groups of friends were already hanging out, their heads angled towards the slightly cloudy sky, their bare feet curling in the grass. Lara and her friends sat together in a huddle; Erin began to make a daisy chain, and Lara picked up her camera and snapped a picture of Fred staring out onto the Black Lake.

"You looked like you were thinking. I had to get a picture of the rare phenomenon," Lara teased, grabbing the printed picture from the top of the camera.

"Cheeky bugger," he rolled towards her, peering at the photo with his chin on her shoulder. "I bet I look _dashing_."

The photo slowly developed, showing a side profile of Fred as he stared upon the open water. In the shimmering light of the sun, his hair appeared almost illuminous, and the freckles on his face popped against his creamy skin. He did, as he assumed, look rather good.

"Your hair looks _very_ ginger," murmured Lara.

"Carrot top, as Angelina likes to call me," Fred grinned widely. "I'll let you keep that photo so you can draw hearts around my face and sleep next to it."

Lara laughed, tucking the picture into her bag. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

"I couldn't get you a meeting with the squid, by the way," Fred said. "I tried to entice him out with toast and cheese, but he was having none of it. Apparently it isn't warm enough for him to come out yet."

"I'll get him eventually. It's my mission to stroke his tentacle before I graduate."

"Well, isn't _that_ an innuendo."

"You're disgusting."

"I'm not that one that wants to feel up the giant squid."

Lara rolled her eyes as Fred flopped to the ground, his arms behind his head and a grin on his face. "Don't be so annoying," she prodded him in the thigh, which only served to hurt her finger. "I forget you're a beater."

"Until you touch my amazing muscles, you mean."

She prodded him again, just for good measure.

For the rest of the day, Lara hung out with friends, treaded in the shallows of the water and ate from the picnic basket, which was mostly just chocolate cake and ham sandwiches. It began to get cold around four, so everyone headed inside to wait around for dinner in the Great Hall. By the time Lara got back to the Gryffindor common room, it was turning dark and the fire was crackling, basking everything in a warm, golden glow.

"You guys are _never_ gunna survive seventh year," Stan grinned towards the sixth years. "If Angelina doesn't have a breakdown, I'll eat Lee's socks."

"If Fred and George get _any_ N.E.W.T.S., I'll join you," sniggered Alicia.

"Hey!" yelped George. "We got three O.W.L.S., didn't we, Fred?"

Fred nodded enthusiastically. "Sure did, George."

"I also call offence on the breakdown comment," Angelina piped up. "I was rather calm in fifth year—"

Several incredulous snorts resounded from the sixth years.

"I was!" Angelina cried, glaring at them all.

"Oh yeah, you didn't tear your bedsheet in half the morning before your Charms exam, not at all," commented Alicia.

"And you didn't hex me when I asked you to pass the toast on the morning of the DADA exam," George grinned.

Lee also looked amused. "Nor did you whack me with a book because my 'heavy breathing' was annoying you."

Angelina smacked her lips together slowly. "Yes, well." She cleared her throat. "That's neither here nor there."

Lara laughed along with the rest of the group and Fred reached over, gently touching her elbow. When she looked at him, he motioned his head towards the window at the back, near a bookcase and a portrait of an old wizard with a pointy hat. Lara instantly got up and followed him, glancing towards the others over her shoulder; they were still talking heartily, paying no attention to the parting duo.

Fred led her over to the window, where he leant against the windowsill with Lara stood in front of him. "I got you another present," he grinned slightly, reaching into his pocket. "This ones just from me."

Lara barely had time to blink before he threw the object into the air. It exploded loudly above her head (the fact that Lara didn't even flinch was very telling to her changed character) and produced a pink heart, the sparkles fluttering down onto Lara's hair and shoulders.

"Like our first date," she smirked, looking back to Fred.

"Our fake date in which I nearly gave you a heart attack and then almost snapped your ankle."

"It was an eventful day."

"You enjoyed it."

"I really did," Lara agreed, chuckling. "Better than any real date I've been on."

Fred smiled at her. It was one of his classic goofy smiles, where he looked unbelievably happy and mischievous all at once. There was something about it that made Lara step forward, their knees knocking together. Fred easily straightened, standing at full height, and Lara had to go on her tip-toes as she got closer, her hands reaching for Fred's face and pulling it down towards hers.

Their lips met in sweet, _sweet_ harmony and Lara could have sighed in relief, because Fred didn't even attempt to push her away. Instead, he grabbed her waist in his large hands, pulling her flush against him as she moved her lips vigorously against his. She knew she was being overly enthusiastic, but she couldn't help it; her body was practically humming with energy, desperate to feel every inch of him, desperate to have him as close as possible.

Plus, it wasn't like Fred was complaining. He responded keenly, burrowing one hand into her long hair, pulling her forward until their legs wrapped around each other. He was just as good as before, if not better—this time she really, _really_ wanted it. This time, she wasn't thinking about David, about making him jealous or trying to get him to see her as more than a friend. This time, it was just them—just Fred, and it was perfect.

"Not that I don't support this development," George's voice sounded from behind them. "But _why_ do you always have to snog at parties? In _front_ of me?"

Lara pulled away, though she didn't loosen her hold on Fred (she couldn't when he was staring down at her the way he was).

"It's more fun that way," Fred called back, his lips quirking.

"Yeah," Lara said with a smile. "We like making you watch."

"Kinky," chirped Lee. "I like it."

" _Boys_ ," Alicia snapped irritably. "Leave them _alone_ , for Merlin's sake."

"Do you know how long I've waited for this?" snapped Erin. "Don't _ruin_ it."

"Too late," Lara grumbled, and Fred snorted in agreement. "To be fair, we do chose the worst times to have our moments."

"You mean, you didn't dream of being snogged in the common room in front of all your friends?"

"Strangely, no, I didn't. Although, technically, _I_ snogged _you_ , so I'm not going to complain."

Fred winked at her. "Animal magnetism, that is."

"Not that again," Lara mumbled, rolling her eyes as she pulled back her hands. "That's not a thing."

"It's totally a thing."

"It is _not_ —"

"George!" Fred cried, and George stopped pulling kissy faces at Lee to look at his brother. "Animal magnetism—what is it?"

"It's what Lara's got for you, mate."

Fred turned to Lara with a smug look.

In that moment, Lara realised something; dating Fred also meant indirectly dating George, because it would always be _Fred and George_ , with or without girls on the scene. She could even imagine him coming on dates with them, if he was bored enough, and she could see her and Fred snuggled on the couch, George leaping over and sitting in-between them like an underappreciated puppy. He would complain he didn't get enough attention now they were together, Fred would take the piss but also secretly feel guilty, and Lara would roll her eyes at them both because, _Merlin_ , she did not sign up for this.

And she couldn't wait for it, for all of it, because it meant she belonged, it meant she got _two_ Weasley boys, and, really, a girl couldn't ask for more.

* * *

 _So...they kissed! What did you guys think?_

 _Just wanted to stop and say I got some really really lovely reviews last chapter and I think you guys are the best. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave something, it makes writer's block much easier to handle. So far, pretty much everyone wants a one-shot where Fred lives, so that's probably going to happen...obviously not for a while yet, but still! I've got it in the plans! Also-over a 100 favourites! Whoop!_

 _Big shout-out to Pamela Hutchins because i'm so giddy she pointed out that she liked that McGonagall didn't help David! I love it when you guys notice things like that, makes my day. Also to Ally141523 because she's homesick and I know how horrible that can be. I'm so glad this story made you smile a bit. Hope this chapter does the same!_


	17. Maybe you need to start stretching

**...**

 **warning; sex jokes cuz...teenagers.**

 **Chapter 17.**

 _Maybe you need to start stretching_

The next day, Amanda was _not_ happy. Sat at the Gryffindor table with Lara and Erin, she placed her palms on her forehead and sniffled.

"I can't _believe_ I wasn't there," she lamented tearfully, causing Erin to pat her shoulder. "I've waited _months_ for this. MONTHS."

Lara rolled her eyes at the melodramatics. "It's not like I planned on snogging him. He pulled me aside to give me his present and…it just happened."

"It was a firework," Erin quickly filled in. "In the shape of a _heart_."

"It's true love." Amanda said. "Actual true love. I'm going to cry."

"Love? It happened _yesterday_ —"

"What was it like?" Amanda cut in, ignoring Lara completely. "Was it as good as the first time? Better? Worse?"

"It was…" Lara began, unable to stop the smile coming to her face. "It was good. Really good."

Erin giggled and said, "They were going at it like rabbits on heat—"

"Excuse _me_ —"

"So he's still _focused_ , huh?" grinned Amanda.

Lara smirked at the reminder of how she'd described her and Fred's first snog at Stan's party back in September. It seemed so long ago now.

"He is," Lara sighed dreamily. "It was better this time, though. It…I like _Fred_ this time, not David. So it was different."

"Awww," Erin cooed, while Amanda put a hand to her heart and sniffed loudly. "Well, we whole-heartedly approve."

"I'd pretty much figured that out by now," chuckled Lara, then tucked her hair behind her ear awkwardly. "And thanks, y'know…for supporting me through the David thing…and making me realise I like Fred."

"You realised that on your own, mate," Amanda reached over to pat her hand. "We just provided the teasing."

"And the insulting names for Brentford," grinned Erin. "But you're welcome, La."

"What about you guys, anyway? Any boy drama—"

"Oh, no, don't think you're changing the subject," Erin interrupted, wagging her finger at Lara. "So are you and Fred _together_ now?"

"I don't know, we haven't talked about it—"

"More importantly," Amanda said, leaning forward and wiggling her eyebrows. "Do you think he's _the one_?"

"The one?"

"The one you lose your virginity to," Amanda elaborated with a wicked smile. "And have sex in broom cupboards and in hallways and on the tables in the kitchens…"

"And on the Quidditch Pitch and in Snape's office, if Fred has anything to say about it," sniggered Erin.

Lara felt her neck heat up. Her initial reaction was a mortified _OH MY GOD_ , but thinking about it…being with Fred didn't seem that bad. In fact, the very thought caused butterflies in her stomach, both from anxiety and excitement. If he was as good at sex as he was snogging, well…

"You're _thinking_ about it!" squealed Amanda, causing several people to glance over suspiciously.

" _Shhhhh_ ," Lara hissed. "I—I'm not—"

" _Fred and Lara sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G—_ "

"Oh, this is great," Amanda chirped over Erin's terrible singing. "I've always wondered if they're beefy _everywhere_ , you know?"

"Even a bloody troll would know what you're on about—"

"'cause if their shoulders are anything to go by," Amanda continued, either not hearing or simply ignoring Lara, "Well…good luck, mate. You'll need it."

Erin suddenly stopped singing and scrunched her nose. "Maybe you need to start stretching, Lara—"

"Shut _up_ ," Lara gasped, flailing her arms towards her friends as she noticed the Gryffindor sixth years entering the Great Hall. " _He's coming_."

"That's what she said," muttered Erin, as Angelina and Alicia plonked down beside her and reached for the food.

George, Lee and Fred walked around to Lara's side of the table, so they took a little longer. Fred and George took a seat either side of her, Lee beside George, and after throwing the two boys on her left a welcoming smile, she turned to Fred as he reached for the bacon.

"You have a bacon obsession," Lara murmured with a smile.

"Who _doesn't_ have a bacon obsession?" he replied as he began to make a sandwich.

"I prefer sausages."

Fred looked at her and winked, bringing his hastily made bacon sandwich to his mouth as he said, "I bet you do."

"Don't you start. You and Amanda should host an innuendo battle together."

"I'm up for that," Amanda piped up, grinning widely at Fred. "Might be a bit hard, though."

"I'm sure you'll be on top of it."

"Are you going to be stiff competition?"

"I'll put on a banging performance—"

Erin reached over and covered Amanda's mouth before she could respond. "People are _eating_ ," Erin stressed forcefully.

"At least we weren't talking about toilet habits," replied Fred. "Although, George had a right eventful morning in the bathroom."

"I really did," George agreed, sighing. "I shouldn't have eaten that curry last night—"

"Alright, alright!" Angelina whimpered, balking as she waved her arms around wildly. "I'm _eating_ , shut the hell up."

Meanwhile, Alicia had her head in her hands as she whispered, "Oh, God. The images."

As the group began to bicker, Fred gently touched Lara's knee, turning her attention back to him. "Have you eaten?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Definitely."

Fred grinned and stood up, waiting a moment for Lara to join him. As they began to walk away from the table, Fred reached over and took her hand. This, along with the fact that they were walking away alone, garnered wolf-whistles from their friends. As Angelina clapped her hands together, Lee grinned and called out;

"Have fun, love-birds!"

"Yeah," agreed Amanda laughingly. "And use protection!"

Lara let out a long suffering sigh and turned towards them, glaring over her shoulder. They simply waved and winked at her; Erin made a shooing motion with her hands, urging Lara to turn back towards Fred. Giving them the finger behind her back, she squeezed Fred's hand tighter as they left the Great Hall.

"Sometimes," he said calmly, dropping her hand to wrap an arm around her shoulders, bringing her snuggly into his side. "I question our choice of friends."

"Me too," she smirked, enfolding her arms around his waist. He smelt slightly floral and tangy, a mix of laundry detergent and aftershave, and it was wonderful. "I think they wanted us to get together even more than we did, though."

"Did you know they have a bet going on?"

Lara looked up at him, her mouth dropping open. "Honestly, I'm not even surprised. Who won?"

"Amanda. That's why she's so smug," he grinned. "Didn't they tell you?"

"Probably didn't want me to hex them."

"Yeah, I don't think they wanted me to know, either," he chuckled. "However, they clearly underestimated the power of being a twin. George can't keep anything from me forever. He told me everything last night. Mostly because he was annoyed he didn't win, but still."

"What did he bet on?"

"He said I'd snog you on the last day of school," he peered down at her, his expression one of carefree joy. "I think his exact words were ' _I reckoned you'd ravage her on the platform, give her something to remember you by, obviously_ '."

"Obviously," snorted Lara.

"Mandy bet something would happen on one of our birthdays. Birthday snog and all that."

"As if we wouldn't have any real ideas for presents and snog each other instead."

Fred snickered brightly. "Yeah, I suppose."

They walked down to the lake, Fred talking about the bets all the while, and chose a private area underneath an oak tree, away from the main bank where other students were hanging out. Fred stretched himself out across the grass and Lara propped herself against the tree, picking daises from the ground and playing with the delicate petals. Smirking, she threw some onto Fred's chest.

"Is that your way of saying I'm as pretty as a flower?" Fred grinned lazily, plucking the petals from his chest and blowing them back towards her.

"You're prettier than any flower."

"Aren't you a charmer?"

"I'm trying to get into your pants."

"It's working," he reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers. "For every compliment I get, I'll loosen my belt by one hole."

"You haven't even got a belt on."

Fred looked down at his jeans, which were dark denim and belt-free. "Oh yeah," he smirked and sat up, their hands still laced together, the fingers on his free hand raking through the roots of her hair by her right ear. His lips stretched into that stupid, goofy grin, his dark pupils glancing between her eyes and her lips.

Unable to help it, Lara laughed as she cupped his neck with her hands.

"What?" he murmured.

"That smile," she replied quietly. "So cheesy."

"I'll take it," he shrugged. "I like cheese."

His lips met hers and he tipped her head backwards, his tongue sweeping across her sensitive skin. Lara held back a moan as the kiss escalated and she threaded her fingers into his hair, pulling him towards her. Scooting closer, he draped an arm around her waist, holding her firmly against him until they ran out of breath.

"Well," he panted once they'd pulled apart. "At least we know we're good at _that_."

Lara gulped thickly. "Not to inflate your ego, but…you were always pretty good at that."

"Better than Brentford?"

"You're such a _boy_ ," she smirked, rolling her eyes. "I'm not answering that."

"Just nod or shake your head."

Giggling slightly, Lara put her head to Fred's bicep and nodded twice. He whooped and gently tugged the end of her hair. "Sucks to be him," he chirped.

Lara sat back against the tree again, straightening her dress over her legs. Taking her attention away from Fred for a moment, she glanced at her surroundings, staring particularly at the lake for any sign of the Giant Squid. It still wasn't warm enough for him to bathe in the shallows, but the weather was definitely getting better, marking the beginning of summer. The sun was warm when it actually peeked out of the clouds and there was only a slightly breeze, though it picked up every now and then, blowing Lara's hair over her shoulder. In the distance, the castle was dark and foreboding against the blue sky, tall and grand, the turrets pointed and twisted, hiding a multitude of secrets.

Having been here for seven years, Lara forgot just how amazing Hogwarts actually was. Settled into her daily routine of lessons, friends and studying for N.E.W.T.S., it was easy to think of the castle as simply just _school_. But it was so much more than that; it was history, it was the pinnacle of British Wizardry, the pride and joy of many witches and wizards across the nation…it was _home_.

And she was leaving in two months.

"I graduate soon," Lara said, tearing her eyes away from the castle to look at Fred. "Like, _really_ soon."

"Two months," nodded Fred. "Eight weeks."

"How do you feel about it?"

"I feel like you should fail all your exams and stay an extra year with me."

"I'd rather snog a flobberworm than disappoint McGonagall," Lara said and Fred snorted amusedly. "So _that's_ not an option."

"So…what shall we do?"

Shrugging, Lara picked a dandelion and blew the white fluffy seeds towards Fred. "I don't know," she said eventually. "Doesn't it seem silly to…be together when I have to leave in two months?"

"We'll have the summer, too."

"I start my job with Walter pretty much straight away," Lara sighed. "In fact, we're travelling to France in July to look for the graphorn colony the Beast Department has been keeping an eye on."

"So do you…do you want to stay friends…"

"No," she gulped, biting her lip. "But I'd rather be your friend than be together and break-up in two months, you know? I don't want it to be awkward…even before my birthday, you were one of my best mates."

"Yeah," Fred laid back on the grass, staring out onto the lake, his eyebrows pinched together in thought. "And I don't want to fall in love with you, then be forced apart when summer starts."

Lara's eyes widened; _fall in love?_ Her mouth opened to say something—however, no sound came out. Fred had always been blunt and straight to the point, almost to a fault sometimes. It was nice because she never had to worry about him hiding his feelings, but at a time like this, where it was sudden and she was caught off guard, it shocked her into a stunned silence.

 _Fall in love?_

"Oh." She breathed, her body unnaturally warm, her stomach churning erratically. "I…I wouldn't want that either."

"Maybe we should just see where it goes," he said casually, not noticing Lara's astonishment. "And if in two months' time we decide it's worth it to stay together, then…we'll put the effort in."

"Okay," she agreed, clearing her throat, which was suddenly extremely dry. "That sounds smart. You never know, we might get on each other's nerves and break it off before the two months."

"Aw, Lala," cooed Fred, tilting his head like a sympathetic puppy. "You're not that annoying."

"I meant if _I_ get sick of _you_ , you git," she grinned and prodded his thigh. "Ouch."

"Beater."

"I forget!" she huffed, holding her aching finger and glaring down at him. Taking in his easy grin, his wide shoulders and messy hair, Lara was reminded of Amanda's comment earlier that day; _I've always wondered if they're beefy everywhere._ Her whole body suddenly burning, Lara began to fiddle with the ends of her hair and, mostly to distract herself, said, "I might not be here next year, but at least Quidditch will start up again."

"Yeah, with Angie as the Captain," snorted Fred. "I'm not sure whether to be excited or scared."

"You think Angelina will get Captain?"

"Of course. It's not going to be me or George, is it? And Alicia isn't bothered about it."

"Well," Lara smirked. "I'm not sure who I feel sorrier for; you and George, or Angelina for having to keep you in line."

"Wood did a pretty good job," Fred grinned. "And we were with him from being twelve. Imagine twelve-year-old Fred and George with beaters bats and brooms."

Lara cringed into her shoulder. "Poor Ollie."

"Poor Ollie," Fred agreed, nodding solemnly.

Time quickly went by as they sat together, talking about everything and nothing, looking out for signs of the Giant Squid, and the sky began to darken and the wind got colder. When they were cast into a murky gloom under the oak tree and Lara began to shiver, Fred said they should head inside, which Lara quickly agreed with. Grabbing his outstretched hand, she hurriedly pulled him towards the castle, desperate to be out of the cold.

"I regret not grabbing a jacket," Lara said, her teeth chattering as they finally entered the castle.

"I'd offer you mine, but…" he glanced down at his t-shirt and jeans. "You can have my t-shirt, if you want."

"Won't you be half-naked?"

"Yeah," he smirked. "But you'll enjoy it."

Lara rolled her eyes and yanked him towards her, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'll just do this instead," she grinned, putting her cold hands up his back.

"Why do girls _always_ have cold hands?" he grumbled, flinching as she spread her fingers over his skin. "Annnnd…I have hypothermia."

"So dramatic."

"Do you fancy going to the kitchens for dinner?" he murmured, glancing down the corridor, where groups of friends were heading to the Great Hall to eat. "I'm not ready to share you yet."

"Hell yeah," Lara beamed. "I've never been to the kitchens before."

Fred's eyes almost bulged out of his head. " _Never_?"

"Normal people don't know where the kitchens are, Weasley."

"You tickle the pear," he said simply, and then laughed when Lara gave him a blank look. "Come on, I'll show you."

He took her hands, pulling her along with the other students. Instead of heading through the Great Hall doors, however, he headed for a regular-looking door in the Entrance Hall, where a staircase led them to the floor below. They came to a long, brightly lit corridor that Lara knew led to the Hufflepuff common room, thanks to her previous conversations with David. Glancing around the walls, Lara saw various food-themed pictures, most of which were unmoving and vibrantly colourful.

Suddenly coming to a stop, Fred reached out towards a picture of a fruit bowl, his long fingers coming into contact with a small, innocent looking pear. Gently wiggling his fingers on it, he stepped back and winked at Lara. She could only stare in wonder as the pear let out a childish giggle, then turned into a large green door handle, popping out from the stone wall. Fred easily grabbed it and pushed open the door.

The kitchens were bigger than Lara expected, at least as wide and long as the Great Hall. The ceiling was high and arched and five tables were set around the room in the exact same position as the house and teacher tables upstairs. Pots and pans lined the stone walls on counter-tops and stoves. At the back, a large brick fireplace took up much of wall.

"Mr Weasley, sir! How is you today, sir?" a small voice squeaked, making Lara look down. At her feet was a small house elf with floppy, bat-like ears and large blue eyes the size of tennis balls. Dressed in a pink, flowy dress, she peered up at Fred with a look of awed approval, her right foot twisting on the spot as she fluttered her thick eyelashes.

"Hey Tippy," Fred chirped, bending to pat the elf's head. "I'm good, how're you?"

"Tippy is great, sir, except Tippy is tired of Winky," she leaned forward and whispered, "She gets drunk _every_ night, sir. Tippy is sick of it, sir. And I is not the only one."

"Sounds like Winky's a girl after my own heart," murmured Fred, at the same time Lara said;

" _Drunk_? Why is she getting drunk?"

"She misses her master, Miss," Tippy glanced towards the fireplace, where a small house elf sat upon a stool staring at the fire. "Winky thinks her master cannot survive without her, Miss. But he does not want her."

"That's so sad," Lara sighed.

"It is not sad, Miss!" Tippy squealed. "Winky is a bad house elf, Miss! She does not want to work!"

"Oh," said Lara as Fred sniggered at her side. "Oh, well, eh…I'm sorry, Tippy. That must be difficult for you."

Tippy nodded her large head, her ears flopping with the movement. "It is, Miss. It is difficult for all the house elves, Miss, not just Tippy."

"Speaking of house elves," smiled Fred, "Could we have dinner here, Tippy? The Great Hall's a bit overcrowded."

"Of course, sir! Choose a table, sir!"

Fred thanked her and walked towards the tables. He sat at the end of what would be the Slytherin table, making Lara raise her eyebrows as she sat down beside him. "Imagine their reaction if they knew," he grinned, wiggling his butt into the seat. "Blood traitor germs all over their bench."

"Ferret boy would be having a fit," smirked Lara.

"Oh, Merlin! I forgot about that! Moody's a great teacher, _great_ teacher…"

Fifteen minutes later, Tippy returned with plates of food, which she placed in front of the duo with a bow. After filling their stomachs with potatoes and chicken, Lara ate a piece of chocolate cake while Fred had treacle tart. Lara grinned as she reached over to his plate with her fork, taking a good piece of the tart for herself.

"I feel like I'm in a restaurant," she said before placing the food into her mouth. "Why don't we do this more often?"

"Some of the house elves get testy about it," Fred said, motioning his eyes towards some old-looking elves washing up by the sink. "The older ones don't think students should be allowed down here."

"Well, technically, they're not. You're just a trouble maker."

"If I'm a trouble maker, _you're_ a trouble maker," he tugged the end of her hair teasingly. "If you come here more than once a week, the older ones start hexing your food to get you to stay away."

"They _hex_ the food?"

"They don't admit it, of course. Hexing a wizard would practically be a sin in their world, but who else would it be? I'm pretty sure I saw one of them laughing when George got turned into a blowfish last year, too."

Lara slowly shook her head. "I'm not even going to ask."

"Best not," he nodded. "I also want a taste of your cake."

He leaned over to grab a piece, so close that his neck was only an inch away from Lara's lips. Unable to help herself, she leant forward and kissed the creamy skin, his floral and tangy scent overwhelming her. In one swift movement, Fred turned his head and pressed their mouths together, as if he'd been waiting for her to make a move all along. Lara couldn't help but grin.

As it always did, the kiss escalated and deepened quickly, with Fred dipping her head backwards and Lara tangling her fingers into his hair. Fred gently nibbled on her bottom lip and Lara's toes curled in her shoes, her breath catching in her throat. Taking this as a good sign, Fred took the lip between his teeth, pulling it outward until Lara gasped and grasped his shoulders. Without a moment's hesitation, he crushed his mouth back to hers, just as passionate and heavy as before.

Lara's head was spinning; spinning, spinning, spinning, and she wasn't even aware of her own _name_ , never mind her surroundings, until a voice said;

"Hello."

The couple jumped apart, panting and dishevelled, Lara still clutching Fred's t-shirt. She was so dizzy from the snogging that it took her a minute to realise who had spoken; it was another house elf, this one with bright green eyes, a pencil-thin nose and large ears. He wore at least five beanies, odd socks and a large jumper with the letter 'R' on it.

"Dobby!" Fred said cheerfully, as if the elf had merely interrupted a game of Gobstones. "How's things, mate? Still enjoying freedom?"

"Oh yes, sir. Dobby is most pleased, sir," he nodded, and then peered over at the depressed house elf by the fire. "Dobby's only worry is Winky, sir. She is very depressed without her master, sir."

"She'll be fine," Fred said, patting Dobby's shoulder. His large hand made Dobby look even smaller. "She just needs to realise how much better it is at Hogwarts than some crotchety old manor. The Crouches are boring old prats, anyway."

"Don't let Winky hear you say that, sir," Dobby whispered, though he looked thoroughly amused. "Whenever Mr Crouch's name is mentioned, sir, she _cries_. And she will not stop drinking butterbeer, sir."

"Is there not like…a grieving therapy she can go to?" Lara asked, glancing towards Winky, who now had her head in her hands, empty beer bottles surrounding her. "I'm sure Madame Pomfrey would talk to her."

Dobby shook his head, his eyes wide and sad. "Dobby has tried to talk to her, Miss. But she tells Dobby to mind his own business, Miss."

"I'm sure she doesn't mean it, Dobby," Lara smiled encouragingly. "You're just being a good friend."

"Oh." He squeaked and his great eyes filled with tears. "Oh, thank you, miss. That's very kind of you, miss."

Lara glanced worriedly at Fred, but he only grinned in response. "You're welcome, Dobby," she said, giving him a small smile. "And I like your jumper."

"Harry Potter's Wheezy gave it to Dobby, Miss!" he presented the jumper to her proudly. "Wheezy is sir's brother, miss."

"Yeah," Lara turned to Fred with a grin. "They have the same hair, don't they?"

"They do, Miss. And they are all very kind, Miss. I's never seen Wheezy…" he eyed Lara and Fred suspiciously, "Do _that_ with a girl down here though, Miss."

Fred blushed from the roots of his hair to the tips of his ears. "Eh, sorry about that," he said, coughing slightly. "Got a bit carried away."

"We won't do it again," Lara hurried to say, wincing embarrassedly. "Sorry, Dobby."

"Dobby forgives you, Miss," he looked back at his house elf friend, who was now sobbing on the floor. "Dobby shall go and check on Winky. Sir, Miss," he bowed and hopped off the table.

Lara waited until he was far enough away not to overhear to say, "Did we just get told off by a house elf?"

"We did," Fred replied.

"Fair enough." Lara nodded. "We should probably find more private places."

"Your fault. You kissed my neck."

"You put it in a kissable area," she retorted and stood up, pulling him with her. "Let's head back to the common room. It's getting cold."

The moment they stepped through the portrait, however, Lara regretted her decision. Erin and Stan were sat on the couches with Fred's friends and George, chatting amongst themselves and Angelina seemed to be doing homework. The moment Erin spotted them, she rose her eyebrows and pointed at her wrist, although she didn't actually have a watch on.

"And _what_ time do you call this?" she demanded.

"Eight PM," responded Fred cheerily. "I've _actually_ got a watch, you see—"

"How have you spent _nine_ hours in his company without wanting to kill him?" Lee asked Lara, sounding absolutely astounded.

George nodded at his friend's side. "Even _I_ can't do that sometimes."

"I have wanted to kill him," Lara said and flopped onto the floor, leaning back against Alicia's legs. "I just didn't go through with it."

"She'd miss me too much," Fred grinned, collapsing beside her and stretching out across the floor. He casually put his head onto Lara's lap, making her roll her eyes, though she made no attempt to push him away. "As would all of you people. I'm the light of your lives—"

" _Shhhhh_ ," hissed Angelina, flailing her arms around. "If you're not talking about the properties of unicorn hair, shut the hell up!"

"Potions homework," Stan said unnecessarily. "She's mildly stressed."

"Mildly?" snorted George. "I think you mean _severely_."

Angelina threw a chocolate frog at him, which he proceeded to eat, and she leapt to her feet to steal it back. As they fought on the couch, Lara glanced down at Fred as he lay peacefully on her thighs. Softly threading her fingers through the front of his hair, she smiled, remembering the beginning of the year when she spent hours denying her attraction to him.

One thing was for sure; Lara had never been happier to be wrong.

* * *

 _Some may consider this a fluffy filler, but i'm all for it. Fred and Lara in Hogwarts is forever my favourite thing to write._

 _Thank you to everyone that reviewed, I got so many last chapter and I was over the moon! I wish I could hug you all for being so bloody amazing. I love that so many of you have taken this story, and Lara, to heart._

 _P.S. apologies for the late update, my grandpa died kinda suddenly and everything was all over the place for a while and I lost the will to write. But then I sat at my computer at the weekend staring at my screen, and I just opened the document to give it a go and this chapter came flying out. 99% sure it was my grandpa telling me to snap out of it, so yeah. Here we are. Hopefully the next one will be out sooner :)_


	18. The snogging can commence

**….**

 **Chapter 18.**

 _The snogging can commence_

 _May-June._

As it turned out, Lara's idea of she and Fred 'getting on each other's nerves' after a month was not to be tested out. Only days after hanging out by the lake, Lara went into full N.E.W.T.S. mode when she realised her first exam was merely three weeks away. She spent all of her time either in the library or in her dorm, reading countless books and practicing wand-work with Erin. The only time she allowed herself breaks was to eat and sleep, and even then it was only when absolutely necessary.

She and Fred barely saw each other except at meal times and passing each other in the hallway. On a few occasions, Fred sought her out in the library, dragged her near the Restricted Section and snogging her against the bookshelves, but they only lasted ten minutes before Erin would come looking for her, worried about perfecting a charm or not understanding something from a book, and, with a sigh, Lara would return to her studying, Fred slinking out of the library with a small grin.

The whole of May passed in a blur, as did most of June. Lara's head was filled with so many enchantments, wand moves, magical creatures, hexes, jinxes, charms, and whatever else those bloody books said she needed to know, she hardly noticed anything that was going on in the school. When her friends talked during meal times, she couldn't remember much of what they said; she was pretty sure Fred and George talked about their shop a lot, and Angelina seemed obsessed with being Captain next year, but anything past that Lara didn't absorb.

Oh, and Viktor Krum got attacked by someone called Crouch, but Lara had a Charms exam the next day and, honestly, Viktor seemed fine, so…

The last day of exams fell on the same day as the Third Task. Whether this was coincidence or not, Lara wasn't sure; she could imagine Dumbledore doing it on purpose as the way for the students to wind down after their exams, especially the seventh years. End-of-exam celebrations usually got a bit wild when the students only had a week left at school and, therefore, only a week left to get detentions.

Her last exam was an Alchemy paper, three hours long and starting after lunch. So, after having breakfast, she set up camp in the library and poured over books and scrolls. Around her, Stan, Erin and Amanda studied for potions, while Omar focused on his upcoming Mermish exam. At half one in the afternoon, half an hour before their exams began, the group made their way to the Great Hall.

"Oh _God_ ," Erin said nervously as they lined up outside the doors. "I'm shaking, I'm actually shaking—and I think I'm going to be sick—"

"You'll be fine," Stan grabbed her shoulders from behind, peering down at her sternly. "We've spent weeks going over everything. You know it all. Don't let nerves get the better of you _now_."

Amanda also looked extremely scared. "Merlin, I hope the essay isn't on Amortentia…I always forget if you stir clockwise or anti-clockwise after adding the butterscotch…"

"Bloody hell," whispered Lara. "I'm suddenly very glad I didn't take potions."

Erin rolled her eyes as the Great Hall doors suddenly flew open. Omar, who had been frightfully quiet all day, let out a squeak and plastered himself against the wall as if a dragon would be on the other side. Instead, it was Professor McGonagall, staring at seventh years over the top of her glasses.

Lara was pretty sure she would've preferred the dragon.

"Come in and take a seat," McGonagall ordered, allowing the students to enter the hall. "Your names are already on the front of your papers, so make sure you sit at the correct table. No talking!"

Lara carefully made her way through the small gaps between the rows of tables. The seating plan was set up in alphabetical order, which meant she was always close to the front. Sure enough, her paper was the fifth table on the first row, two behind Amanda, _Lara Culpepper_ scribbled across the front in cursive handwriting. Taking a deep breath, Lara sat down and picked up the quill on the table.

"You each have three hours to complete your papers," McGonagall said once everyone had sat down. She glanced down at her watch, and the seconds ticked by so slowly, Lara wanted to scream. "If you finish early, sit in silence and wait for the three hours to complete. If you have any problems, silently raise your hand and a teacher will be over to help you. Now…three…two…one…begin!"

The fluttering of paper sounded across the large room. Lara's heart skipped a beat in her chest as her eyes saw the questions for the first time. After a moment of panic, however, Lara gulped and realised they weren't as bad as she thought. Putting her quill to the paper, she began to write.

Three hours sounded like a long time, but the exam was over so quickly, Lara thought Fred and George had snuck into the Great Hall and tampered with McGonagall's watch (which, to be fair, wasn't an impossible assumption). She'd completed all the questions, but she was going through it bit by bit, looking for mistakes and things she'd missed, and was only halfway through when McGonagall announced;

"You're time is up! Quill's down!"

Several people hurriedly scribbled across the paper, while others let out sighs and relieved laughs as they slammed their quills onto the table. McGonagall nodded once before flicking her wand, and the exam papers shot from the tables and towards the front of the hall, where they made a neat pile on the desk McGonagall had been sat at for the past three hours. Some Ravenclaw's, who had been trying to squeeze in a last mark, let out scoffs and glared at the Gryffindor Head of House for taking away their papers.

"Now, you may leave— _silently_ —row by row," the Transfiguration teacher said, then motioned towards Lara's side of the hall. "Row one, if you please."

Lara shot to her feet, cringing as her body ached from being in the same position for so long. Amanda rushed to catch up with her, looping their arms together as they exited through the doors and walked into the Entrance Hall.

"It wasn't on Amortentia," chirped Amanda as they leant against the stone wall waiting for their other friends. "It was on Dragon Tonic, which I know all about thanks to you and Walter blabbering on about it during the summer! So thanks for being obsessed with the fire-breathing death machines, I think it might've just helped me get an 'O' in potions!"

"Well, you're welcome," Lara snorted. "Glad to help."

"How was your paper?"

"Good. It focused mostly on fire, which is exactly what I wanted. I struggle with air the most, and there was only a couple of questions on it," she grinned as she spotted Erin hurrying out of the hall, looking around for Amanda and Lara. "Erin, over here!"

Erin beamed when she spotted them, rushing over with her arms outstretched. She took Lara into a large, overly-excited hug. "Bless you and your dragon obsession, you crazy loon!"

"I heard it was on Dragon Tonic."

"It was," Erin laughed gleefully. "And I remembered Walter telling you about it at the Quidditch Cup! When I see that boy, I'm going to bloody kiss him!"

"Ew, please don't," Lara cringed, just as Stan and Omar appeared. "That's not something I need to see."

"Dragon Tonic," was all Stan said when he got close enough, a giant smile on his face. "Bloody _Dragon Tonic_."

Erin squealed, "I _KNOW_."

"If I don't get full marks for that essay, I'll be shocked," grinned Stan, and then took Lara into a hug. "I've never been prouder of your weird fascination with dragons."

Rolling her eyes, she hit him on the shoulder and pushed him away, so he moved onto Amanda and Erin, bringing them into a group hug. "What about you, Omar?" Lara asked the Ravenclaw, who had his usual easy smile back onto his face. "Good exam?"

"Brilliant exam," he sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "And that's it now. We're all done."

"All done," agreed Erin brightly, and then her smile faltered slightly. "Holy shit, we're all done!"

"We've only got a week left," Amanda said with a sad sort of shrug.

The group lapsed into a short, reflective silence. Lara could feel her chest tightening in the most uncomfortable way. She'd been here for seven years—in fact, she barely remembered life _before_ Hogwarts and in a weeks' time she'd leave this place, never to come back.

"Well." Omar said loudly, his lips twitching. "We sure know how to bring the mood down."

"I know, Merlin," laughed Stan, shaking his head. "We've still got a _week_ , guys. Plus, the Third Tasks tonight, and I don't know about you, but I'm excited! And I intend to celebrate until the early hours when Potter whips everyone's butt!"

"What if Diggory wins?" Erin asked as they began to make their way down the corridor to their usual windowsill.

"Still a Hogwarts win," Stan shrugged. "And a good reason to get _drunk_."

The group perched on the windowsill for a while, going over the exam papers and talking about the Third Task. At six, they made their way back to the Great Hall, which was back to its original form; four house tables and a teacher's top table.

Lara practically skipped towards the Gryffindor table, more desperate to see Fred than she cared to admit, but she stopped when she saw who he was with. He wasn't sat with the usual—Angelina, Alicia and Lee—but instead Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, his little brother, Ron, George and two other ginger people that Lara didn't recognise. One was a tall man with long ginger hair and a fang earring, while the other was a plump woman dressed in a floral dress. As Lara watched, the woman affectionately patted George on the face, to which he scrunched his nose and stuck his tongue out, making her laugh heartily.

It was obviously Mrs. Weasley, whom Lara had heard a lot about and seen on platform 9 ¾, but never actually met. Spinning on her heels, Lara turned back towards her friends and ran straight into Erin, who she grabbed by the arm.

"What's wrong?" Erin questioned immediately.

"Fred's mams here," muttered Lara, "With his brother, Bill, I think."

"Oooh, meet the parents—"

"Absolutely bloody not," Lara snapped, "Let's sit at the Ravenclaw table."

Her friends rolled their eyes and huffed, but did as she asked anyway. Sitting at the end of the Ravenclaw table, they enjoyed the extravagant feast, and Erin correctly guessed there were more courses than usual. Just as Lara finished her dessert and Stan finished his 'HARRY RULES, THE REST OF YOU ARE FOOLS' banner, Dumbledore got to his feet at the teachers table and the hall instantly fell into silence.

"Ladies and gentleman, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

The Great Hall broke out into applause, particularly the Gryffindor table. Lara, Stan and Erin stood up to cheer as Harry disappeared out of the hall with the other three champions.

"Now, the rest of you may follow," Dumbledore said a minute later, and the whole hall rushed to their feet, eager to get good seats.

Lara saw Mrs. Weasley walk out of the doors with Ron, Hermione and Bill, but the twins were nowhere to be seen. Pushing her way through the crowd, she finally got to the Gryffindor table, which was now empty except for some Gryffindor sixth years, who were glancing down the table confusedly. Alicia was the first to notice Lara; she glanced up and smiled, nudging Lee in the arm and pointing towards her. Lee glanced up, saw her, nudged Angelina—this went all the way down the line, until Fred caught on and looked over at her.

"Where've you been?" he asked, bounding over like an excitable puppy. "I've been waiting for you to turn up!"

"I just—"

"She saw your mum and hightailed it to the Ravenclaw table," grinned Erin, appearing at Lara's side.

Fred looked down at Lara with an amused grin. "Really?"

"I…she looks scary!" Lara huffed, crossing her arms. "She can keep you and George in _line_ —do you know how daunting that is?"

"She can be pretty frightening," George turned up, putting a hand on Fred's shoulder. "Remember the Unbreakable Vow incident when she told dad to punish us?"

Fred unconsciously reached down and rubbed his butt. "Yeah, ouch."

"But in _other_ news!" Stan burst out, practically jumping up and down on the spot, "We finished our exams!" he grinned and proceeded to take all the sixth years into bone-crushing hugs; only Lee looked mildly surprised by the affection, though he accepted it anyway.

"You _finished_?" Fred turned to Lara once he'd been squeezed by Stan, who was now bouncing around with George, both of whom were flailing their arms around and making strange gobbling noises. "Properly finished?"

Lara nodded and smiled, "Yep. No more studying."

"Ah-ha!" Fred yelped and, before Lara could react, he grabbed her waist and lifted her into the air. "The snogging can commence!"

"Fred! Put me _down_ —"

"Before you go at it like rabbits on heat," Omar grinned, walking backwards towards the Great Hall doors, "Shall we go watch the third task?"

Everyone agreed, except Fred, who remained in the same spot with Lara partially thrown over his shoulder.

"Fred," George called out from near the doors. "What're you doing?"

"I'm thinking about it!"

"About _what_?"

"The third task or snogging," he clicked his tongue loudly. "Oh man, this is a hard choice."

"Shut up, you loser," Lara thumped him on the back while the rest of her friends sniggered. " _I_ want to watch the task, so if you want to snog, you'll have to find a nice pillow."

"Are you sure?" said Fred, finally putting her back onto her feet. He wasn't exactly a tall guy, but he towered over her 5'3 frame. "No way I can convince you?"

"No," she replied…though he was grinning down at her goofily, and her insides were burning and her hands were wandering up his chest. "We'll have plenty of time after," she continued, mostly for her own benefit, as her mind was focusing a little too much on Fred's empty dormitory.

"That's true," he agreed and took her hand, "To the Quidditch Pitch!"

They were rather late to the stands, so they ended up sitting in the only empty seats to hold them all; the benches near the Durmstrang lot, which everyone had avoided because Krakaroff had chosen to sit with his students. Lara hesitated on the stairs as Lee bounced into the seats, a giant grin on his face. She glanced back at Erin, who looked equally uncomfortable, but then the others slowly piled in and, with a shrug, Erin sat down beside Alicia. Lara sighed and sat down next to Fred.

"He doesn't look nervous!" George grinned as Fred wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "That's a good start! I thought he was going to pass out before the second task."

Lara glanced towards where the champions stood with various teachers and Ministry officials. Harry was walking towards the maze, a small smile on his face as he looked back towards the crowd. He looked a little peaky, but he also seemed…excited? Or maybe determined would be a better word.

"Ladies and gentleman, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!" a voice boomed across the pitch. "Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each—Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!" the cheers and whoops of the crowd made the stands vibrate, and Lara jumped to her feet along with her friends to make herself even louder. "In second place, with eighty points—Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" the area next to Lara burst into deep, hollering cheers. "And in third place—Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

Once the polite applause for Fleur was finished, Bagman continued, "So…on my whistle, Harry and Cedric! Three—two—one—"

A sharp blast of a whistle sounded, and Harry and Cedric rushed into the maze. They were gone for only a moment before Bagman blew his whistle again, allowing Krum to join them. Then, a minute later, another blast sent Fleur running, too.

Much like the second task, the crowd couldn't see much, but everyone was too excited to care. Every time a light flashed from within the maze, everyone gasped and cheered.

"I bet those are coming from Harry!" Stan shouted out, earning glares from the Durmstrangs sat next to him. Far from shutting him up, this only spurred Stan on more and he screamed, "GO HARRY! WOOOOOOOO!"

"What do you think they're fighting?" Angelina asked eagerly, turning slightly in her seat to address the whole group. "Trolls? Manticores? Erklings? Ooo, _ooo_ , giant spiders?"

"For Ron's sake, I hope not," said George, and he and Fred shared an amused look. "But they're all a possibility."

"Maybe a vampire," Fred grinned. "Harry the Vampire—sounds pretty cool, if I say so myself."

Erin looked positively delighted by this idea, "A vampire would make sense after the Merpeople!"

"Maybe a Hag!" Lee suddenly burst out. "Harry would _shit_ himself if an old lady hag came at him—"

Gasps suddenly echoed through the crowd. Jumping to her feet, Lara saw a head of golden hair being pulled out of the maze by Professor Flitwick. She was unconscious and Madame Pomfrey rushed over to her, just as the Beauxbatons lot began to hiss and boo. Unable to help it, the Hogwarts students let out excited shrieks, including Angelina and Alicia, while the Durmstrangs high-fived and grunted appreciatively.

"Fleur Delacour is out of the competition and, therefore, places fourth overall!" Bagman announced, and a few boys let out wistful sighs.

The task continued; Fred and George held onto each other anxiously, Alicia jumped onto Stan's back and began to wave his banner with him, and Angelina was practically hyperventilating with the tension. Lara leaned forward in her seat, wrapping her arms around Erin's neck as they watched the dark maze, looking for any signs of life.

Suddenly, red sparks flew into the air. The crowd waited in stilted silence for a few minutes—and then Viktor Krum was carried out of the maze, also unconscious, by Professor McGonagall. The Durmstrang lot leapt to their feet, shouting obscenities and insults in Bulgarian towards the maze. However, they could scarcely be heard over the screams of the Hogwarts students, who definitely had a champion for their school.

"YES! I _KNEW_ IT! I BLOODY KNEW IT!" yelled Alicia, grabbing Stan's head and shaking it happily. "CED-RIC! HA-RRY! CED-RIC! HAR-RY!"

"A Hogwarts champion!" Fred screamed, holding George in a headlock as he bounced up and down.

George fought his way out of the hold to wrap his arms around Fred and, together, they began to sing, " _Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

 _Teach us something please,_

 _Whether we be old and bald,_

 _Or young with scabby knees…_ "

For years to come, Lara would wonder if there was a moment, a split second, where something changed and she just didn't notice. If there was a sign that something had gone horribly, horribly wrong—a tenseness in the atmosphere, a crack in the ground, a shake in the sky. But she never thought of anything, because all she remembered was celebrating with her friends, hugging Erin over the back of her seat, Fred leaning down to kiss her enthusiastically on the lips and the whole group groaned and rolled their eyes.

They were laughing, they were joking, they were jumping up and down, they were _happy_ —the whole crowd was, in fact. The joyfulness lasted for ages, the whole school talking about how they were going to celebrate, particularly the Gryffindor's and Hufflepuff's. Fred, George and Lee were talking about running to Hogsmeade to get alcohol, and Angelina wanted to get her Weird Sisters album down from the dorm and play it, and Erin was figuring out how to break Amanda and Omar into the Gryffindor common room, rules and morals be damned and—

Harry appeared suddenly at the edge of the maze, face down in the ground and holding the Triwizard Cup and Cedric Diggory. The crowd burst into screams and applause, including Lara as she beamed towards the fourth year boy, hoping he would see how proud everyone was. But Harry didn't attempt to move, he just stayed face down in the ground, holding the cup and Cedric, who had not moved since they landed…

Dumbledore rushed over and grabbed Harry, flipping him over. They exchanged hurried, breathless words, and Cornelius Fudge rushed over, bending beside Harry and gently touching the side of Cedric's neck. Around Lara, the crowd was still celebrating, oblivious to the tension building down by the maze. Fudge pulled away from Cedric and his lips moved and all Lara saw were his lips say the word 'dead'.

"Guys, _guys_ ," Lara grabbed onto Fred's elbow, as he was jumping wildly with Lee and George in a group hug. "Guys, Cedric—he's—he's—"

"What?" said Erin breathlessly, looking down towards the ground. Lara saw her smack a hand to her mouth.

People were trying to pry Harry away from Cedric, but he wouldn't move. Several people in the stands gathered on the stairs, desperate to get a better look, among them Cho Chang and David Brentford, both of whom looked stricken with worry.

Lara could barely breathe. She felt like this whole thing was just a joke. Cedric had to be stunned, right? He couldn't _actually_ be dead. The Triwizard Tournament was dangerous, but Dumbledore had said things were in place now to protect the champions, that it wasn't as risky as before…

"What's happened?"

"What's wrong with him?"

" _Diggory's dead_!"

Cho Chang let out the most awful scream and fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands. Her friends rushed to grab her, but they were so shocked, so overwhelmed, that many of them fell alongside her. David put a hand to his face and gulped as the crowd began to whisper to each other, trying to figure out if what was happening was real or just an elaborate prank.

Lara's own knees were seconds from giving out when Fred grabbed her, his hands wrapping securely around her waist. On the row in front, Angelina and Erin were huddled together crying, while Stan held onto Alicia and Omar sat in his seat, staring blankly down at the ground.

Moody stomped over to Harry and grabbed him, pulling him through the crowd. Harry looked like he'd been heavily stunned as he stumbled through the stands, bleeding from his arm, his clothes torn and dirty. Lara could only stare after him, frozen in shock. Cedric Diggory…the kind, handsome Hufflepuff who had been so alive, so _happy_ at the Yule Ball. Lara remembered him in Hogsmeade, cuddled in the corner with Cho Chang, whispering sweet nothings in her ear, a crooked smile on his face…

And now he was _dead_ , never to smile again.

She'd never been close to him, but she'd talked to him a few times, and she didn't need to be his friend to know he was a smart, sweet boy with a bright future ahead of him. He was tipped to be Head Boy next year, and he had plans to go into the Ministry and make a _real_ difference, a _good_ difference, and nobody doubted he would do just that.

Dead…dead… _dead_ …

"All students need to report back to their common rooms _immediately_ ," McGonagall said sharply, her voice magnified by a spell. "Prefects, lead the way!"

Everyone sprang into action and began to make their way back to the castle. Most of the crowd were crying, and those who weren't were just too dazed to do anything other than follow the flow of people. Silent tears rolled down Lara's face as she walked, Fred's arms still wrapped around her, and some couldn't help but gossip;

"Did you hear what he said?"

"I know! He said You-Know-Who's back…"

"That's _impossible_. He killed him ages ago!"

"But if anyone was going to know if he came back, it would be Potter…"

"He's lying—"

"Why would he _lie_?"

The arguing Ravenclaw's went towards their own tower, leaving the Gryffindor's to head up their own common room. All but stumbling through the portrait hole, Lara had never been more relieved to sit on the couch. Her legs felt like jelly and her hands shook violently. Despite knowing she was being rather hysterical, she couldn't stop crying.

"What the hell _happened_?" Angelina's voice cut through the silent common room, making Lara finally look up from her hands.

Angelina was stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes now dry and angry. Around her, the sixth and seventh years had gathered around the fire; Erin and Stan were squeezed onto the arm chair, Fred was sat on the arm beside Lara, while George and Lee took up the space next to her on the couch. Alexa and Allison were sobbing into their hands on the floor, and Fiona was sat, stony-faced, on the coffee table. Glenn Chan and his friends, for once, seemed to be speechless.

"Who knows?" said Erin, her voice shaky.

"Potter does," Glenn Chan snapped. "He said You-Know-Who's come back and he killed Diggory!"

"Bullshit," scoffed Trent Angel. "You-Know-Who is _dead_."

"Yeah, and who killed him?" Stan hissed furiously. "Oh yeah, Harry _fucking_ Potter, that's who! If he came back, he'd obviously go for Harry, wouldn't he?"

Trent glared, but Lara could see the fear in his eyes. "He _can't_ come back, okay? He just can't."

"I think you need to face the facts, Angel," Lee grumbled. "He can and he _has_."

The common room lapsed into silence. Far from being comforted by her friends and house-mates, Lara felt even more terrified. The very thought of You-Know-Who being alive and gaining power again was enough to send her into a panic attack. She'd heard stories about him and his followers all her life, from her parents, extended family, teachers, history books—he was pure evil, and if he was back that meant…what did that mean? Did it mean a Second Wizarding War?

Lara sucked in a sharp, painful breath. Merlin, she wished Walter was here.

One by one, the Gryffindor's went off to bed, until only Lara and her closest friends were left. Erin had dozed off on Stan's shoulder, and Alicia had also fallen asleep on Angelina's legs, the latter of whom was talking quietly to Katie Bell. Lara glanced up at Fred, who was still sat on the arm of the couch staring at the fireplace vacantly.

"Do you want to sit down?" Lara whispered.

Fred looked down at her in surprise, as if remembering he wasn't alone. Slowly, he nodded, and Lara got to her feet to allow him to slip onto the couch. Once he was comfortable, he gently pulled her onto his lap. Lara balanced on his knees, her back against the couch arm, staring at her fidgeting fingers.

Apart from Angelina and Katie's murmuring, nothing was said. Somehow, Lara fell asleep with her head on Fred's shoulder, breathing in his floral and tangy scent, and hoped that things would be better tomorrow.

* * *

 _Things are getting more serious from now on guys! The start of the second war..._

 _Just want to take a moment to seriously thank you guys for all the lovely reviews. Not going to lie, I'm having a hard time at the minute and reading them all really puts a smile on my face, so thank you so much! Hope I continue doing the story justice for you all._

 _also RIP to Cedric. He's always had a bit of a special place in my heart because I see his death as the beginning of everything else...the loss of innocence, if you will. Like that moment in your childhood when you realise everything isn't as simple as you thought, you know what I mean? Probably just me, but RIP anyway._

 _((and cursed child tried to ruin him, but I digress))_


	19. Nice to meet you, Squidy

**...**

 **heavy petting and sex references.**

 **Chapter 19.**

 _Nice to meet you, Squidy._

 _June-July._

Things were not better the next day. In fact, everything seemed a whole lot worse. All the students resembled zombies as they ate breakfast, staring blankly at the walls or pushing their food around their plates. Everyone was strangely quiet, even the Weasley twins, and Lara couldn't help but glance towards the top of the Hufflepuff table, where Cedric usually sat. He was, of course, not there, but his friends were and they looked utterly shell-shocked. Halfway through the meal, Hannah Abbott broke into sobs and ran out of the hall, her friends trailing after her.

Cho Chang didn't turn up at all.

Lara spent her time in the Gryffindor common room, mostly sat in silence as she played Gobstones with Erin or Exploding Snap with Fred. She had merely six days left at Hogwarts, but, suddenly, that barely seemed to matter. At least she _could_ leave; she was going to graduate and move on, get a job, see her family…Cedric would never do any of those things, and it was a difficult thing to comprehend. Lara felt very, _very_ lucky.

A few days later, Harry Potter was released from the hospital wing. Dumbledore stood up at breakfast and told the students to leave him alone and, under no circumstances, should they ask questions. So when Harry appeared that night with Hermione and Ron flanking his sides, nobody bothered him. He didn't even look at anyone as he ran up to his dormitory, whispers and mutters following his departure.

A second year student sent for Fred and George at one point, asking them to go to Dumbledore's office. They looked confused as they obliged, disappearing out of the portrait hole together. Their friends said nothing in their absence, though they glanced towards the door, awaiting their return. After half an hour, Angelina straightened like a curious meerkat. Lara knew before she had even looked that the twins were back.

"What happened?" Lee asked eagerly. "You haven't done anything for ages, if you're in trouble that's just bogus—"

"Nah, it was our mum," George said, collapsing onto the couch. "She'd come to see Dumbledore and wanted to talk to us for a minute."

Fred slipped onto the floor behind Lara, his legs resting either side of her. "Is she okay?" Alicia asked from opposite Lara, where she'd sat as they played Gobstones.

"Yeah, she's fine," replied Fred, resting his hands on Lara's thighs. "Just wanted to know how we were handling everything."

Erin looked relieved as she said, "Oh, that's sweet."

But the twins exchanged a look; a long, sombre look that Lara was the only one to notice and she felt, for the first time, that the twins weren't being entirely honest about what was going on.

Other Gryffindor's returned from meals and walks around the castle, sitting around the couches and sparking up conversations. People tried to make jokes and have a laugh, but everything seemed rather strained and half-hearted. Even the twins weren't as bubbly as they usually were, and their jokes were said with less mirth, their eyes sparkling a little less than normal. Fred's goofy grin didn't quite reach his eyes and, not knowing what else to do, Lara grabbed his hand and stroked the back with her thumb.

Erin soon wanted to go to bed, so Lara loyally followed, bidding her friends goodnight. The other seventh year girls were already upstairs; Alexa and Allison were sat on Alexa's bed talking, while Fiona laid in bed reading a book. Erin rushed over to her bed and collapsed onto it, letting out a heavy sigh. Within minutes, her eyes had closed and she seemed to have drifted off to sleep.

However, once Lara had changed into her pyjamas, she had nothing to do. Erin was already asleep and she wasn't tired, nor did she want to talk to her other roommates. Fiona would probably bite her head off, and Alexa and Allison were best friends, much like Erin and Lara, so joining their conversation would be just be awkward. Laying on her bed staring at the ceiling, Lara wondered if the boys were still awake.

She glanced over at Erin again, who was now snoring lightly. Figuring she had nothing to lose, Lara got up and padded out of her dorm, down the stairs, across the common room and up the boys stairwell. Coming to a door that said 'Sixth Year Boys', she gently knocked on the door. For a moment, everything was silent—then heavy footsteps pounded across the floor and the door swung open, revealing George, who was dressed in pyjama pants and an old t-shirt.

"Lara!" he said in surprise. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm bored," she replied simply. "And Erin's asleep. Can I hang out here?"

"Of course you can," he grinned before pulling her into the dorm. She stumbled slightly in her socks and banged into a trunk, knocking her knee against the lock on the front. "We're playing Exploding Snap."

Rubbing her injured limb, Lara glanced up and saw Lee and Fred sat on a bed together. Fred's t-shirt was slightly singed and Lee was sucking at a burn on his right pointer finger. They both grinned at Lara in greeting as she walked over to them, perching herself beside Fred.

"Where're the others?" Lara nodded towards the empty beds of their roommates.

"Stuart and Copper have gone to see their girlfriends," Lee answered, his voice mumbled as he continued to nurse his finger. "Towler's…Merlin knows."

"Who cares?" shrugged Fred unconcernedly.

"Fred," Lara reprimanded, rolling her eyes. "All because he said you're not funny."

"It was mean," Fred said, "And not to mention _untrue_."

"Plus, he called Harry a lying prat earlier on while he was arguing with Lee," George huffed. "So I offered to repeat the itching powder incident and he hasn't been seen since."

"Probably plotting how to take us down with Filch," Fred scoffed, and then added, "Prat," for good measure.

Lara shook her head, but she couldn't be bothered to tease them, so she rested her head on Fred's shoulder and watched them play with the cards. Every now and then, Fred would cover her face with his hands as they exploded, and at one point her socks caught fire.

"How did that even happen?" Lee yelped as Lara ripped off her burning clothing, throwing them to the floor.

"Who cares?" squealed George. " _PUT IT OUT_ ," he added as the flames got larger and began to spread towards the bed beside them.

Fred quickly grabbed his wand from the bedside table and pointed it at the socks. "Aguamenti," he said, waving his wand, and water shot out from the end.

Smoke swirled from the clothing and Lara coughed, waving her hand in front of her face. Fred quickly cast another spell, sending the socks flying into the bathroom to de-smoke.

"And on _that_ note," Lee announced with a grin. "I'm getting pretty hungry. Fancy a trip to the kitchens?"

"Sure," shrugged George. "Beats burning down the Gryffindor Tower."

Fred glanced at Lara and she stared back. "I think we'll stay here," Fred said, turning towards his brother and friend. "Keep an eye out for…stuff."

"Or get reacquainted with each other's mouths," smirked Lee. "Sure, whatever."

George laughed, and for the first time in days it sounded real. "Well, have fun, love birds," he said before he and Lee disappeared out of the door.

Once they were gone, Fred moved to clean up the Exploding Snap cards before settling on the bed again. Instead of kissing her as Lara expected, he looked down with furrowed eyebrows and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Getting better," Lara replied quietly. "You?"

"I…I'll be alright."

"I just feel sorry for his friends and family," whispered Lara. "If I feel like this, how must _they_ feel, y'know?"

Fred nodded solemnly. "He was his dad's pride and joy…you should've heard him talking about Cedric. I thought he was a git at the time, but…he was just proud. Really, really proud."

"Yeah," Lara murmured as she felt a lump come to her throat.

They lapsed into silence. After a minute or so, Lara looked over at him and saw he was half-propped against his headboard, rubbing his face with his hands. In his old pyjamas, his muscles were clear to see, thick and rounded under the thin material. _How_ she hadn't noticed his good-looks before Stan's party, she'd never know, because staring at him now she felt like she was going to lose her mind.

He looked at her, then. His brown eyes were clear and bright, sucking her in, making her stomach churn. Her own eyes roamed his face; his thick eyelashes, his long, freckled nose, his arched lips…lips she hadn't tasted properly for _weeks_. A flash of orange brought her attention to his hair, which was short, messy and slightly burnt from his previous game.

"What?" Fred asked, and his lips stretched into a grin.

 _That_ grin. The one that was big and goofy and Lara's favourite thing in the world.

"You know we said we'd take it slow," she murmured, her mouth dry. "And see where things go?"

"Yeah."

"Would you…" she paused and took a deep breath. "Would you be terribly offended if we just, like…forget about that?"

"What do you—mmphf."

He was cut off because she kissed him, crushing her lips to his, throwing her legs either side of his thighs. She ran her hands through his hair, over his shoulders, down the front of his body; Fred moaned and grabbed her hips, his grip tight and strong. Something about the way he held her, the way he made her feel safe after days of uncertainty and chaos, almost brought tears to her eyes.

Ripping her lips from his, she reached for his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. Wide-eyed and looking like he couldn't quite believe his luck, Fred sat up straighter and his hands flittered up to her waist. Smiling at his surprise, Lara kissed him again, sucking on his bottom lip, her hands roaming, her fingertips greedily absorbing the feel of his muscles.

He reached for her pyjama top and tugged. Pulling away slightly, their foreheads still pressed together, Lara panted, "Are you sure?"

Fred let out a barking laugh. "Am _I_ sure?"

"I kinda just pounced on you," she grinned, flushing. "I don't want to pressure you."

"Trust me," he murmured, licking his lips. "I don't feel pressured _at all_."

And so, her top was pulled off, as were the rest of their clothes, and Lara lost herself in the feeling of him. They probably laughed more than they should have and they had to stop mid-way so Fred could cast a locking charm on the door in case, "The prat, Towler, walks in and gives us bloody detention or something," but it was fun and it was exciting and it was perfect.

Afterwards, lying there, gasping for breath and slightly dazed, Lara turned to Fred and said, "That was _so_ not what I planned when I came up here."

"You know what that means?" Fred asked, grinning as he looked at her.

"What?"

"Animal magnetism is _definitely_ a thing."

She groaned and hit him in the chest, but he just kissed her again and she laughed, holding onto his hair, and she knew she'd never regret the day Fred Weasley became her _one_.

* * *

 **...**

Lara returned to her dorm hours later than she intended. Lee and George had turned up around an hour after her and Fred had finished…eh, _having fun_ , with arms full of food and jokes on their lips. They sat on Fred's bed without hesitation, oblivious to what had happened moments before. Lara could barely hold back her laughter, because she knew if she told them they'd completely freak out; in fact, she was pretty sure George would burn the sheets.

She didn't say anything; she didn't know _what_ to say, nor was it really her place to say it. She counted George and Lee as friends, but they were ultimately Fred's best mates and if he wanted to tell them, he could, and if not, then that was fine, too. Erin Goodwin, however, was _Lara's_ best friend, and she definitely wanted to tell her. So, bidding goodbye to the boys (and sharing a secretive smile with Fred), she left the room to head back to her dorm.

Erin was awake now, revived from her nap. She was chatting with Alexa and Allison, a small smile on her face. Seeing her slightly relaxed, slightly normal after days of misery, made Lara feel even more giddy. This meant, when Erin finally spotted her in the doorway, Lara was grinning so widely her cheeks ached.

"Where did you go?" Erin asked, though she sounded more curious than angry. "Alexa and Ally said you walked out without a word—"

"I, eh…" Lara glanced at the two girls Erin had mentioned, both of whom weren't _really_ her friends. "I…"

"Oohh, she went to see a boy," grinned Alexa, wiggling her dark eyebrows.

"Which translates to; she went to see Fred Weasley," Allison giggled. "Did you have fun?"

Lara's whole body turned red, she could _feel_ it. "Yeah," she breathed, unable to help the smile on her face. "Yeah, I did."

" _Oh my God_ ," Alexa squealed and covered her mouth with her hands. "You _didn't_."

Erin's eyes widened. "Didn't what?"

"She had _sex_ with him!"

Five pairs of eyes turned towards Lara, for even Fiona now seemed interested in the conversation. Her book was in her lap as she stared at Lara, eyebrows raised in question and curiosity.

"I, eh…" Lara stumbled again. She hadn't planned to tell her whole _dorm_ about Fred. "I…don't know what to say…"

Erin let out a laughing gasp, covering her mouth with her hand. "You actually did?" she squeaked. " _Lara_."

"I didn't _plan_ it," Lara said, clearing her throat and realising for the first time just how much she said that phrase when describing her and Fred's relationship. "He was just…he was really cute and sweet and…well…"

"Ready to bang your brains out?" Allison nodded slowly. "I understand. Plonk yourself down, my friend."

Lara sat down at the place Allison had patted. Realising four out of the five girls were on the same bed, Lara turned towards Fiona and motioned for her to come over, just because it seemed like the right thing to do. Smiling sheepishly, Fiona placed her book onto her bedside table and hurried over, sitting beside Erin, who threw her a smile.

"So, first things first; how was it?" asked Alexa, looking positively delighted by the change of events.

Lara groaned and tugged her hair, "Are we really going to do this?"

"Yes," all the girls answered together and then gigged brightly at each other.

Looking around, Lara realised this was the first time since Cedric's death that her dorm mates seemed…normal. They were giggling and nudging each other, Fiona was rolling her eyes but also smiling a little, and even Lara herself felt lighter than she had all week. If her having sex with Fred gave them a respite, just an hour of being teenagers again, she'd take it.

"It was…a good laugh," Lara replied with a sigh, shaking her head. "Which sounds weird, but…honestly, it was so bloody funny. My bra got stuck on my wrist and he had these stupid rubber ducky boxers on that I couldn't stop laughing at…but it was great. Really, really great."

"Well, it was always going to be different with Fred, wasn't it?" Erin shrugged, a bright smile on her face.

"I'm surprised he didn't let fireworks off at the end," Alexa giggled.

"He probably would have if we'd planned it," Lara said and the other girls laughed.

Fiona smirked, "Maybe next time, huh?"

"Probably!" Allison chirped and Alexa sniggered into her hand. "And what was… _it_ like?"

"Yeah," Erin whispered as if they were sharing an elaborate secret, even though there was no one else in the room. "Does Amanda's theory have any merits?"

"What theory?"

"That it's as big as the rest of him," Erin wiggled her eyebrows. "Think about his shoulders, girls, and then think about _it_ being in proportion."

All their noses scrunched. Alexa even reached over and patted Lara sympathetically on the knee.

"It was fine," Lara awkwardly fiddled with her hands. "It…hurt, but y'know. First time always does, so…"

Allison's lips pursed in thought. "Hmm…maybe I need to set my sights on George…"

"We've got three days left," said Fiona. "Good luck with that."

"Don't crush my dreams, Gerald," Allison huffed and threw a pillow towards Fiona. "Oh, Merlin, my _dreams_ …"

Alexa rolled her eyes at her friend. "Ignore her. She's sexually frustrated."

"Aren't we all," grumbled Erin and the girls fell into laughter again.

Lara shook her head and leant back against one of the posters of the bed. For the first time…she realised just how much she was going to miss her dorm mates.

* * *

 **...**

The night before the last day of term, Lara spent packing. This time, she was packing not just for the summer, but forever. She wouldn't be back here next year, throwing her things around the dorm, chatting to Erin, shouting over to Alexa and Allison, smirking as Fiona rolled her eyes at them. This was it; her final night at school, her final feast, her final time in her four-poster bed, looking out onto the Quidditch Pitch from the tower window, Erin sleeping soundly in the bed beside her.

Lara sighed and placed another pair of shoes into her trunk. She tried to focus on the positive things about leaving school; she got to work with Walter and see him all the time, she got to spend time with her parents and extended family. She'd decided not to go for the Auror positon as McGonagall had hinted, as she wanted to be close to her brother. She had a feeling things were going to get difficult— _very_ difficult—and she wanted to be with Walter as much as possible, even if that meant not reaching her full potential just yet. After all, she could become an Auror another time, years from now…but she only had one brother.

Seeing Walter all the time was only a small comfort, however, for she was leaving so much behind. Hogwarts was her _home_ , the place she had grown and learnt so much, where she had met her friends, where she met Fred…there were more bad parts about graduating than good, and she just couldn't seem to shake that off.

"We need to head down to the feast," Erin announced, breaking Lara from her thoughts. "You ready?"

"I guess," Lara got to her feet and followed her friend down the stairs.

Fred was waiting with the others, including Stan, who grinned at Lara in a sad sort of way. She smiled back as Fred rumbled over, enfolding her in his arms and rushing her towards the portrait hole. She was laughing, truly laughing, into his shoulder as they stumbled out and she sighed as they made their way down the stairs together towards the Great Hall.

The group sat at the Gryffindor table, waving to Amanda and Omar, who remained with the Ravenclaw's, as they always did for the Leaving Feast. Lara sat with Stan on one side and Fred on the other, alternating between who she rested her head upon. After Erin, Stan would be the friend she missed the most once they left; he was a constant source of laughter and entertainment, and after seven years together Lara could honestly say she saw him as an honorary brother.

The Leaving Feast was quieter and more subdued than those of the years before; the Hufflepuff table, in particular, seemed sombre. As the last of the students flittered into the hall, Dumbledore rose from his seat. The hall fell deadly silent.

"The end," he said evenly, his eyes scanning the solemn crowd. "Of another year."

Lara saw her Headmaster's eyes wander over to the Hufflepuff's, who looked unusually pale and sickly-looking. "There is so much that I would like to say to you all tonight, but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here," Dumbledore said, motioning towards the Hufflepuff table. "Enjoying the feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."

Every single person in the hall stood with their goblets raised. In low voices, everyone said, "Cedric Diggory," and sat down again. Some people were freely crying now, others were trying to show a brave face. Lara reached under the table and grabbed Fred's thigh, mostly to anchor herself to him.

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff House," Dumbledore said once everyone was settled. "He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have a right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about."

The Great Hall held its breath. Lara gripped Fred's thigh so tight, he reached down and gently pried her fingers off of him, instead holding her hand. She smiled sheepishly and he squeezed her palm.

"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

Lara flinched at the name, while the rest of the hall broke out into hissing whispers. Most of the hall stared at Dumbledore in complete horror, and down the table, Trent Angel put his head into his hands. On the contrary, Dumbledore looked calm and pensive as the students talked themselves back into silence.

"The Ministry of Magic," the Headmaster continued once everyone was quiet again. "Does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so—either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."

Fred and George nodded along heartily at Dumbledore's words. This all but confirmed what Lara thought; the twins knew more than they let on, because the rest of the table seemed utterly stunned by Dumbledore's words, including Lee.

"There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death. I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter."

Every head swerved in Harry's direction. Most of them looked scared, some angry, but all Lara saw was a young boy, his green eyes tired and resolute as he stared up at Dumbledore. His eyes held a knowledge and intelligence that no fourteen-year-olds should. Lara's stomach twisted; that poor, _poor_ boy.

"Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort. He risked his own life to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. He showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honour him."

Dumbledore raised his glass, and the students followed his lead, murmuring Harry's name alongside the action.

"The Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened—of Lord Voldemort's return—such ties are more important than ever before. Every guest in this Hall will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again—in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open."

"It is my belief—and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken—that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst. Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

There were very few people that didn't cry. Lara wiped at her wet cheeks and sniffled, and even Stan seemed to have watery eyes. The silence that followed Dumbledore's speech was haunting and tense, but also sort of beautiful, for it paid homage to Cedric perfectly. The Hufflepuffs, at least, seemed humbled by the reminder of their fallen housemate and many were huddled together in groups, comforting each other.

Lara leaned forward on the table and sighed; she would try to do as Dumbledore said. When times got hard, when everything seemed pointless, she would remember the kind boy with the crooked smile, and remember to fight for him.

Cedric was on Lara's mind the next day as she dragged her trunk down to the Entrance Hall. Usually, the seventh years would have a graduation ceremony before they headed back towards Hogsmeade, but, with everything that had happened, it was cancelled this year. Lara was actually relieved; she couldn't stand to sit there with her housemates, thinking about Cedric, who should be sat there next year, a seventh year, a graduate, _alive._

So, instead, the seventh years waited until Hagrid appeared, and he took them to the boats they'd arrived in years before. Lara climbed into one with Stan, Erin, Amanda and Omar, the boat rocking dangerously at their combined weight. At one point, Omar lost his footing and slammed into Amanda, almost sending them both into the lake.

"Sorry, sorry," he laughed as they settled down, Amanda shaking her head amusedly.

As they set off, Lara glanced down at the lake beneath her and gasped.

"The Giant Squid!" she squealed, throwing herself to the opposite side of the boat and leaning over. The squid was basking in the warmth of the day, his massive body just visible against the darkness of the water. His thick, long tentacles wiggled upwards and one was poking out, squirming in the air. " _Oh my Merlin, oh my Merlin, oh my_ _Merlin_ ," she whispered, reaching forward excitedly.

Her hand touched the glistening red limb. It was slimy and squishy beneath her fingers, as cold as snow. She expected it to retract its tentacle the second she touched him, but instead he wrapped the end of it around her wrist, almost as if he was trying to shake her hand.

"It _likes_ me," she hissed gleefully. "Nice to meet you, Squidy."

The boat began to move. Sighing dejectedly, Lara let go of the squid and sat back down on her seat, a bright smile on her face. Her friends were looking at her in a mixture of amusement and befuddlement. Omar was slowly shaking his head.

"Oh, shut up," Lara snapped half-heartedly.

They slowly floated across the lake, the castle getting smaller and smaller in the distance. Lara stared up at the turrets and the mismatched corners and the dark stone, her heart aching in her chest. She had to grab her stomach to stop herself from letting out a sob.

"Come on, then," Stan said as they came to a halt on the other side of the lake. "Time for the real world."

Lara stumbled out of the boat. The rest of the students were appearing from the carriages, most of them sixth years. In the distance, Lara could see two heads of ginger hair walking towards Hogsmeade Station. Glancing at her friends over her shoulder, all of whom were talking amongst themselves, Lara rushed forward and didn't stop until she'd wrapped her arms around one of the twins' waists.

"You will _never_ guess what!" she grinned, popping her head around the side of the body. "I shook hands with the squid!"

"That's great, La," the twin reached down to ruffle her hair and Lara realised it was George. It was half-expected; she hadn't really took notice of who she ran to. "About bloody time, too. I thought we'd have to break you in next year to see him."

"I mean, you can still do that," she let go of him, stepping towards Fred, who was stood a little in front with an amused smile. "I'm sure you've never snuck a student _into_ Hogwarts before."

"Never had a reason to," Fred replied and enfolded his arms around her. "But I _suppose_ I can break the rules for you."

"Thanks," Lara retorted sarcastically. "Much appreciated."

The others turned up then, saying their hellos to the sixth years. Once they got to the train, they all squeezed into a compartment together; Lara ended up on Fred's knee, Amanda on Stan's, Erin on Omar's. But then Alicia and Angelina turned up, too, so Lee, Fred and George moved to the floor, and the two girls squeezed onto the same bench as Erin and Lara.

Lara sat for most of the journey making conversation with everyone, Fred sat against her legs, her fingers running through the front of his hair. When the trolley lady turned up, everyone bought a few things each, and the twins leapt to their feet to properly inspect the treats. As they were stood looking at some chocolate wands, George spotted something along the corridor and nudged Fred, who look up and scowled.

"Eh, we'll just be a minute," Fred said to the compartment, and then he disappeared with George.

"What're they up to?" sighed Angelina.

"Who knows?" Erin shrugged as she opened her Bertie Botts Beans. "I've realized it's best not to ask too many questions."

The twins were gone for more than a minute; in fact, they were gone for the rest of the train ride. As the train came to a screeching halt in King's Cross, Lara wandered onto the platform with the others, looking around for any sign of Fred. Her gaze was broken by Angelina and Alicia, who hugged her goodbye before rushing off to their respected families. Lee followed soon after.

"We'll see each other soon, right?" Omar asked, his eyebrows knitted as he stared at his friends.

For a moment, Lara almost laughed and said; _it's only a couple of months, Omar. Will you really miss us that much?_

But she stopped short—they wouldn't be here in September, boarding the train for another year at Hogwarts. No, September 1st this year would come and go without drama. They'd all be off doing their own things. Lara might not even be in the country.

"Holy shit," Lara whispered as the weight of moment bared down on her. Looking at her friends one-by-one, she felt herself get choked up. "I'll—I'll miss you guys."

Lara wasn't big with voicing her affection, at least not to anyone but Fred, who made it seem so simple and easy that affection came naturally. She would always be there for her friends and they knew that, but she didn't go around declaring her love all the time or saying how much they meant to her. She hoped they knew that anyway, without her having to say it, from her quick hugs and teasing grins. But, suddenly, she wanted to yell it from the rooftops, she wanted to sit them all down individually and tell them how great they all were…and…and—

"I'll miss you all, too," Erin said, and a small sob bubbled from her lips. "God, guys. I'll miss you all so bloody much."

Lara took her into a hug and Erin wept into her shoulder. Hogwarts was everything to Erin; it was where she felt she belonged. The prospect of going home to her parents, who were scared of anything to do with magic, was probably utterly terrifying.

"Come 'ere, the lot of you," Stan said, sounding a little choked as he brought the group into a large hug. "This isn't the end, guys. We'll see each other again."

"But not every day," Amanda sighed sadly. "Not like we used to."

"Send me owls, okay?" Omar demanded, pointing at each of his friends in turn. "All the time. Even if it's just to say hi."

The friends laughingly agreed. They could have stood there all day together, reminiscing and laughing and joking, but Stan's two brothers suddenly appeared with a banner that said 'THE YOUNGEST, THE UGLIEST, THE STUPIDIEST—HE'S ONLY GRADUATED HOGWARTS! CONGRATS, YOU LITTLE SHIT' and ran towards him, throwing him onto their shoulders.

"Bye guys!" Stan yelled as they marched him away. "I'll send owls!"

The others were laughing as they watched him disappear into the crowd. Then, with a sigh, Erin said, "My parents are waiting in the muggle world. I'll see you later," she hugged each of them and rushed off, dragging her trunk behind her.

"I better go, too. My parents are having a _graduation dinner_ at my house," Omar didn't look excited by the idea. "Live long and prosper," he grinned, making Lara laugh, before he left.

"And I better find Walter," Lara sighed, turning to Amanda. "And you need to find your parents."

"Yeah, they'll be around here somewhere," she glanced behind her. For a moment, she almost looked nervous, but when she looked back at Lara she was smiling as if nothing was wrong. "See you later, La."

They hugged before parting in opposite directions. Lara walked towards the barrier, where instead of spotting Walter, she saw two identical heads bent together as they whispered to each other. George saw her from the corner of his eye and nodded towards her. Fred turned and smiled, but they both looked dazed, like they'd been whacked across the head with a beaters bat.

"Where did you get to?" Lara asked once she was close enough to them.

"We found Ferret Boy and his minions ribbing on Ron and the others," George replied. "So we hexed them, then stayed to make sure Harry and that were okay."

"I was going to find you when we pulled up, but…eh…" Fred glanced at George, who shrugged, grinning. "Well, we got the surprise of our lives."

George shoved something towards her. It was a bag of something. She eyed it suspiciously, thinking it was another one of their joke products. Seeing her face, they both laughed before Fred said, "It's nothing that can maim or drench you in water, I promise. Harry…well, Harry gave us his winnings."

"His Triwizard Champion winnings?" gasped Lara, her mouth dropping open. "But—but—it was about a thousand galleons—"

"We know," George grinned.

"He said he didn't want it," Fred shrugged. "And, well, we _do_ want it. He actually said we could all do with a laugh nowadays."

"Well," Lara let out a disbelieving snort. "I suppose he's right. That's really great, guys. Your shop might be open sooner than you thought!"

Fred looked positively delighted at her proud tone. He began to stare down at her in a way that had George sniggering and lifting his hand in a sort of 'I'll leave you to it' motion. He walked back towards his family, who he brought into a lively conversation. Over his mum's shoulder, he winked at Fred and Lara.

"He's giving us a minute to…" Fred trailed off.

"Yeah, I know," Lara smirked. "So kiss me."

He instantly wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her towards him and kissed her. It barely lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to send Lara's heart hammering against her chest. He pulled away with a pained expression, like he didn't really want to, and Lara went back onto the flats of her feet, letting go of his t-shirt.

It was just in time, too. Mrs. Weasley was beginning to make her way towards the wall. She hadn't noticed Fred was missing and walked off with her other children, George motioning wildly to his twin to catch up.

"Shit," Fred hissed, his jaw setting. "I have to go."

"Yeah, I know. Go quick before your mum gets a leash."

"I'll see you during the summer?"

"Yeah, of course."

He went to run towards his family, but stopped short and stepped back towards her. "I'll miss you," he said, his ears turning red.

"I'll miss you, too," Lara grinned widely. "Don't forget about me."

"Never," he grinned and went to kiss her again—

" _Lara_!"

The duo jumped apart and looked towards the barrier, where Walter had turned up, panting and red in the face. He waved towards Fred and Lara enthusiastically, his sparkling eyes darting between the two. "Sorry I'm late!" he chirped loudly. "Got caught up at work…although, I see you've kept yourself busy."

Lara glared at him before looking back at Fred. "Sorry about him," she said, coughing awkwardly. "Let's go, yeah?"

"Yeah," Fred said, squeezing her shoulder before rushing off to his family, who were already through the wall, and throwing a small wave towards Walter.

Lara slowly walked over to her brother, who was grinning widely. "Don't say a word," Lara sighed.

"I wasn't." He replied happily. "Except, you know… _Fred and Lara sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes loves, second comes marriage—_ "

"I'm going to punch you."

"Does that mean you don't like my singing?"

"Nobody likes your singing," she said as he took her trunk and they walked towards the wall together. "I missed you, though."

"Missed you, too," he grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her into a side-hug. "And now you're coming to work with me."

"Yeah," Lara smiled, for it was the thing she was looking forward to the most. "Yeah, I am."

* * *

 _Hey...it's been a while! Won't bore you with a long explanation, but life kind of got in the way. But with everything that's going on, my works been shut down so I had a little time to write. I hope it provides people with a bit of a distraction like it did for me. Stay safe guys._

 _Also the reviews for the last chapter were amazing. You're all so sweet. Thank you thank you thank you._

 _we're moving onto the Order of the Phoenix next chapter, hope to see you guys there!_


	20. The Boy Who Lies

.

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 **Part ii—Chapter 20.**

 _The Boy Who Lived becomes the Boy Who Lies?_

 _September._

The summer of 1995 turned out to be one of the hottest ever recorded in the United Kingdom. A heatwave swept across the country, bringing with it barbeques and inflatable paddling pools, dug out of sheds and garages for the sweltering population to enjoy. Even the North East, which was infamous for its bad weather, enjoyed weeks of a blistering sun and little rainfall. At first, the good weather was celebrated and relished, but as the weeks went by people became more and more fed-up. Clothes sticking to skin and sweaty hair pulled away from faces, the population took to complaining loudly whenever they saw fit.

"It's _boiling_ ," people would say, slightly harassed and red in the face. "How are we supposed to work in these conditions?"

It may have been a good point, for electric fans and air conditioning could only do so much, but it fell upon deaf ears. Daily life continued, albeit slower and more frustrated than before, and a drought warning was issued across the country (except for the North East, where droughts were rarely a problem thanks to Derwent Reservoir).

The Wizarding World of Britain did not fare much better. Lacking in electrical components to keep the air cool, the Ministry relied on the fact that they were underground to keep the workers happy. It worked…for a while. But, slowly, the air became thick and clammy, people began to huff and puff, annoyed and too hot with their surroundings.

The strict 'professional attire _only_ ' was quickly discredited; wizards and witches of all ages disregarded their long, billowing robes and appeared in thin garments, most of which were particularly see-through. At least half a dozen times, the members of the Department of Magical Games and Sports took to lying in the Atrium on the wooden floor, foreheads pressed against the cool ground. Whenever someone tried to move them, they'd receive a loud, animalistic growl which even the Auror's didn't want to mess with—so that was how the Sports Department ended up with an ice dispenser in their office.

Lara Culpepper began her job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures during this unruly and chaotic time. Exactly one week after graduating from Hogwarts—and at the very beginning of the heatwave—Lara went to the Ministry with her brother, to whom she was an assistant to. She spent the next two weeks at his side, looking after magical creatures and dealing with animal disturbances. After these two weeks, the Ministry began to resemble the inside of an oven, so when Lara was called away to France with her brother to look for graphorns, she was over the moon.

France was also experiencing a warm summer, but Lara spent most of her time out in the open, among the mountains and the trees, and with fresh air filling her lungs she didn't mind the blazing sun on her back. She camped in the wild in the same tent she'd used at the Quidditch World Cup the summer before, she picked berries and weeds (using the book her friend, Amanda, had given her for her eighteenth birthday, which told her what plants she could eat and which she definitely _could not_ ) and she bathed in creeks and rivers, looking up at the clear blue sky and thanking her lucky stars that she was no longer in the stuffy Ministry.

"How long do you think we'll be here for?" Lara asked weeks later as she sat around a campfire, eating peaches from a tin.

Walter grinned at her from over the flames. "Why? Sick of me already?"

"I'm always sick of you," she replied casually. "But I was wondering if there's a time limit on these things. Surely the Ministry doesn't let you trail around countries for weeks on end without hearing anything."

"They do when you're a qualified Magizoologist. Plus, I'm well fancy now 'cause I have an assistant."

Lara snorted and stretched out across the grass, glancing towards the sky. Away from the florescent lights of towns and cities, the sky was pitch-black and littered with glittering stars. She couldn't see them now, but Lara knew that in the distance, mountains criss-crossed each other for miles and miles to come, the peaks covered in thick white snow, the rest a vivid green and masked with thousands of trees. In a few places, large bodies of clear blue lakes were visible, which was just as well because graphorns were known to gravitate to water.

Despite it all, despite the fact that she was probably in one of the most beautiful places on earth, Lara longed to hear from England. With her and Walter moving around all the time, owls just weren't possible. They hadn't heard from the Ministry, their co-workers, their boss and, most importantly (to her at least), their friends and family. When they left in the third week of July, the _Daily Prophet_ were turning against Harry Potter and the Ministry was aggressively denying that Voldemort was back.

Now, several weeks later, who knew what was going on? She and Walter had no sense of real time out here, though they guessed at least six weeks had passed. That would make it…early-to-mid September now. Anything could have happened during that time; her brain ached thinking of all the possibilities. And, she couldn't help but think, the Hogwarts students would be back at school…including all her sixth year friends—now seventh years—including Fred.

Fred Weasley, her sort-of-but-not-really-maybe-one-day boyfriend, who she hadn't actually seen since the day she left school. For the first three weeks, they exchanged numerous letters and tried to meet up, but it just wasn't possible. Fred had family things going on and Lara had to work. Then, suddenly, she had to leave and their letters stopped.

At least, _her_ letters stopped. Fred said he would continue to write to her and await her reply when she got back—Lara was not looking forward to seeing how many envelopes that waited for her at home. Not just from Fred, but from all of her friends; George, Angelina, Alicia, Erin, Amanda, Stan, Omar—she'd regularly corresponded with them all before she left for her graphorn mission. If they'd all took a leaf from Fred's book and persisted with their letters, she'd have hundreds waiting for her upon her return.

"We normally stay out about three months," Walter continued, bringing Lara's attention back to him. "And if we don't find anything, we come back out later on."

"So we've got another six weeks to find the graphorns," nodded Lara. "No pressure."

As it turned out, they wouldn't need another six weeks, but merely a few days. After deciding the graphorns probably weren't in France, they turned their attentions to Switzerland. They were deep in the mountains, nothing but trees around them, when they suddenly came across a gigantic clearing. Filled with a multitude of flowers, rocks and a still lake, Lara was about to ask Walter to stop for a breather when she spotted something across the water.

"Walt," she whispered, snatching his elbow quickly. " _Look_."

Across the clearing, a colony of graphorns were milling about the water and grazing on the weeds. There were two adults, large and hump-backed, with greyish-purple skin. Their golden horns shone under the rays of the sun. As Lara watched, one of them reached down to eat something, the tentacles around its mouth wiggling and twisting with the effort.

Then, suddenly, four baby graphorns appeared, dancing around their parents' feet. One of them confidently dived into the water, while the other three watched with a look of hesitation upon their faces.

"Aww," Lara murmured, smiling. "There's _six_ —didn't you say there were only three last time?"

"There was," agreed Walter. "This is amazing. _Three_ more graphorns. Do you know what that means for the breeding population?"

He began to walk towards the creatures. Her eyes widening slightly, Lara raced after him until they were only about twenty feet away from the graphorn family. Placing his backpack onto the ground and telling Lara to stay put, Walter stepped towards the animals.

The two adults whipped their heads around to look at him. One of them crouched down and hissed, while the other jumped in front of the three land-babies, scraping its paws threateningly against the ground. The graphorn in the water looked confused.

Lara's heart thudded in her chest, but she knew Walter had to check they were in good condition to report back to the Ministry. Before her very eyes, Walter began to stomp around the ground, making strange noises and whining in a high-pitched tune. Finishing off his elaborate dancing ritual, he collapsed onto his stomach and rolled onto his back, his legs in the air like a dead fly.

Slowly, uncertainly (Lara holding her breath the entire time), one of the baby graphorns walked towards Walter. The adult creatures grunted with apprehension, ready to attack if anything went wrong. They needn't worry; the baby graphorn sniffed Walter and, deciding he smelt rather tasty, began to jump around like an excitable puppy. Walter reached into his pocket and gave the creature a slab of meat. Seeing this, the other three babies scrambled towards him and the adults shared an almost resigned look as they watched their children fawn over the food.

"Get your food out," Walter called over his shoulder.

Lara reached into her over-the-shoulder bag, where she'd stashed red meat for the creatures. Two of the graphorns sniffed the air, realised there was more food around the area and scarpered towards Lara. Smiling welcomingly, Lara bent down and allowed the graphorns to take the meat from her hand. Their small, thin mouth tentacles tickled her palm.

"They're adorable," Lara sighed as one rolled onto its back, throwing the meat into the air before catching it again and swallowing the food whole.

She tried to remember what she knew about the species; they loved eating, they were heavily family-orientated, and they hated loud noises. Their golden horns were valuable in some potions, such as the Antidote to Uncommon Poisons, which meant they were hunted regularly and almost put into extinction years ago. Newt Scamander had repopulated the breed and spread them across the European mountains with the idea that hunters wouldn't be able to find them as easily.

"We should cast some protection charms on them," said Lara, taking more meat from her purse to feed them. "To make it even more awkward for hunters to see them."

"Damn, good idea," Walter grumbled from the floor. "We usually just cast concealment charms on their habitats."

"We can do that, too. But the babies need extra protection."

Watching the four babies pounce on each other and fall to the ground, their bums wiggling in the air, their mouth tentacles squirming happily, Walter whole-heartedly agreed.

The siblings spent an hour with the creatures, for they'd spent nearly seven weeks looking for them and thought they deserved a bonding moment. Then, having ran out of food, Lara stood and cast spells on the habitat and the graphorns, every protection and concealment charm she could think of. By the time she was finished, Walter was grabbing his backpack from the floor.

"Ready to head back to England?" he grinned widely.

"Yeah," Lara nodded eagerly. "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

They had to check-in with their boss first, to tell him they'd found the graphorns and documented their progression, so they made their way to the closest town and Walter set up a Portkey with an old beer can. They landed—rather heavily—in the Department of Magical Transportation, where they had a landing-zone dedicated to Ministry Officials travelling via Portkey.

Dirt-ridden, their hands smelling of red meat and tanned to the extreme, Lara and Walter made their way to the Beast Division Department. It was a large, circular room on the 4th Level of the Ministry of Magic. Filled with desks, chairs, a 'practical work area' (which was actually just a rubber matt on the floor that the employees stood on to hex each other and claim they were 'practising') and hundreds upon hundreds of pictures of creatures, it was one of the busiest offices in the Ministry.

Lara and Walter headed for the door at the back, upon which a golden plaque with the words 'Hayden Crane' was stuck. Their boss was sat behind his desk scribbling on parchment as Walter handed over their documents. He looked up only to congratulate them before going back to work.

"He missed us," Walter chirped once the door was closed. "I can tell. Normally he doesn't even look up from his work."

"Must be my dazzling influence," grinned Lara. "Let's get home, I desperately need a shower—"

"Culpepper's!" a voice interrupted Lara, making the siblings turn. "Come 'ere!"

Far down the office, a bunch of Lara's co-workers had gathered around a desk. A few of them seemed to be reading something. Glancing at each other, Walter and Lara made their way over.

"Alright, guys?" Walter said. "Missed us?"

"Terribly," responded Olivia Poole, eyeing them up and down. "Nice tans."

"Aye." Alan Sweeny smirked before continuing, "So do you know what's going on around here?"

Lara instantly straightened. "No, but we're desperate to know—"

"Dumbledore's been thrown off Wizengamot," Hudson Kemp said, leaning back in his seat, for the group had gathered around his desk. "Late July, I think it was."

"Well, he actually _stepped down_ ," Corey Wilcox corrected haughtily.

"He was _forced_ to step down," snapped Melanie Terry. "Everyone knows it."

"I—are you _serious_?" Walter cried incredulously. "Why would they _do_ that—"

"Well, you know the _Prophet_ had it out for Harry Potter—"

"Which is a disgrace, by the way. He's _fifteen_."

"—they quickly escalated after you left," Hudson said, throwing Olivia an annoyed look for butting in. She rolled her eyes in response. "So now they're cursing Dumbledore to hell and back, too."

"Saying he's a crazy old bat that's losing his mind," Corey sighed. "And he shouldn't have any power anymore because he's dangerous to society."

"That's ridiculous," scoffed Lara. "He's old, sure, but he's as sharp as a whip."

"He's always been old though, hasn't he?" Melanie had a look of confusion upon her face. "Even when I was in school—which is a while ago, let me tell you—he was considered old. But _all of a sudden_ they have a problem with it."

"They have a problem that he's saying You-Know-Who is back," Alan shrugged simply. "That's the root of it, isn't it? He's making them look bad, so they're making him look bad."

Olivia sighed loudly. "I just don't get it. Even if you don't believe You-Know-Who's back, people have to remember that Harry Potter is just a _child_. It doesn't matter what he's done in the past or whatever he might do in the future—he's fifteen. The _Prophet_ should be done for child endangerment the way they're going on."

Several of her co-workers reached out and nudged her, their eyes wide as they subtly shook their heads. Unfortunately for them, Lara and Walter caught onto the shared looks and elusive flinches.

"What?" Walter demanded sharply. " _What_?"

"Nothing, nothing," Melanie said, glaring at Olivia. "Don't worry about it, Walt—"

"No, tell us," Lara said softly. "What's going on?"

Hudson, who had always been the most out-spoken and blunt of the Beast Division, leant forward on the table. "When we say the _Prophets_ being horrible," he said slowly, glancing around his co-workers for help. They remained awkwardly silent. "The…the _Politics_ section is being particularly…impolite."

Lara suddenly felt ill; that was her _dad's_ section.

"Show me." Walter snapped, and Olivia handed over a paper.

Lara read over her brother's arm;

 _The Boy Who Lived becomes the Boy Who Lies?_

 _Harry Potter may have saved the world on Halloween night over fifteen years ago, but it seems his supremacy is quickly dying off. After declaring He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back (and miraculously come back from the dead), Mr Potter has not been seen all summer._

 _Many are accusing Mr Potter of pulling off a rather elaborate prank; after all, declaring the most evil wizard of all time is back and running off into the sunset may seem rather hilarious to fifteen-year-old who, despite having defeated You-Know-Who all those years ago, didn't_ actually _live through the First Wizarding War. He, therefore, does not know the horror we all suffered from, the years we have spent rebuilding the Wizarding World and Ministry. Sick of being called The Boy Who Lived, did Mr Potter decide to say You-Know-Who is back, to be disassociated from his trouble past? To cause mayhem in the Wizarding World that have loved and adored him for so many years?_

 _Or, as others are saying, has he simply lost his mind and really does believe that You-Know-Who is back? And, therefore, should we be admitting Mr Potter to an asylum to be treated?_

 _And while he's there, should Albus Dumbledore be sent with him—many witches and wizards seem to think so. Dumbledore, who was first a Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts before being promoted to Headmaster, had stated on multiple occasions that he fully supports Mr Potter's claims that You-Know-Who is back. The public are, quite reasonably, beginning to question his sanity and, therefore, his power in the Wizarding World. Once a highly respected wizard with powerful ties across the globe, Dumbledore now seems like nothing more than an old fool._

Lara's jaw clenched; she didn't need to read anymore…except…her eyes scanned to the bottom of the article, where, in a large, proud font, were the words; _Written and edited by Homer Culpepper._

Cringing into her shoulder, Lara inhaled before breathing out slowly. Of all the things she'd expected upon her return home, this hadn't been one of them. Her dad had always spoken highly of Dumbledore, who had been his Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts. In fact, Lara remembered her dad being part of the campaign team to try and get Dumbledore to run as Minister for Magic.

Beside her, Walter read the whole article, word for word, before placing the paper onto Hudson's desk. His face was one of uncontrollable fury. "Thanks for showing us," he growled towards his co-workers. "Now, if you excuse me."

He marched out of the office, Lara racing after him, and didn't stop until he got to the floo network, where he climbed into the fireplace and said, "The Culpepper house, Durham, England," before disappearing in a burst of green flames.

Lara cursed and rushed to do the same. She didn't even want to imagine what Walter would do if she wasn't there to mediate between him and their dad. They got into horrible arguments anyway, about stupid things like what paper they read and what career Walter should have gone into, but this…this was going to be the worst one ever. Not only did Walter _adore_ Dumbledore, he'd been saying for years that You-Know-Who would come back purely off his own intuition. He'd always said You-Know-Who's death had been too 'simple' and he'd be back, one day, somehow, and cause havoc across the world again.

Within seconds, Lara landed in her living room, stumbling forward and into the coffee table. Letting out a hiss of pain, she dropped her backpack onto the floor and looked up; Walter and her dad were already fighting. Her mam stood off to the side, looking between her husband and son as if watching a tennis match. None of them noticed Lara's arrival.

"I don't know what makes you think you can speak to me like this!" Homer roared, pointing his finger in Walter's face. "I'm your _dad_ —"

"A sorry excuse of one!" yelled Walter. Behind him, Pamela put her head into her hands. "How _dare_ you write those things about Dumbledore! He's a better wizard than you can even _dream_ of being—"

"He's a crazy old fool," scoffed Homer. "How can You-Know-Who be back, Walter? It's physically impossible. He was killed over fifteen years ago."

"He was _injured_ fifteen years ago. His body must have lived on somehow—"

"Even if that was true—which is _isn't_ —then why would he chose _now_ to come back? Why not five years ago? Ten? Twelve?"

"Because he OBVIOUSLY WASN'T STRONG ENOUGH—"

"Now _you_ sound like a lunatic," Homer spat, prodding Walter in the chest. "I don't know where we went wrong—as soon as you started school, everything went downhill. You became obsessed with dragons and _weird animals_ and _The Quibbler_ —then you go into the _Beast Division_! Worst of all, you dragged Lara down with you—"

"Excuse me!" Lara yelped, turning every head towards her in surprise. "I liked dragons and animal's _way_ before Walter went to school. Don't you remember Goober? He was my best friend growing up."

"That stupid old crup your grandparents had—"

" _Stupid?_ STUPID?" Lara squealed and her dad blanched. He was used to Walter back-talking him, but Lara had always been rather level-headed towards her parents. "How _dare_ you! _You're_ stupid!"

It was a rather half-arsed insult, but she was so angry she felt like spitting fire and it was the best she could come up with.

"She's right," Walter chirped, giving Lara a proud grin before looking to his dad again. "You _are_ stupid."

"Now wait just a minute—"

"You _know_ he's back, dad," Walter's voice lowered to an almost pleading tone. "Deep down, you can feel it. There's so many signs, you're just ignoring them because you're scared."

"Of course I'm bloody scared," Homer snapped, his voice slightly shaky. "You don't know what it was like before—the constant fear you'd come home from work and find your family dead. Do you know how many people that happened to? How many people I knew _personally_ that lost everything? He can't…he can't be back."

"We won before," Walter gulped. "We can win _again_ —"

"We won out of sheer dumb luck!"

" _Dad_ —"

"He's _not_ back," Homer breathed, shaking his head slowly. "He's not, Walter. He's not. You-Know-Who _died_ —"

"Voldemort." Walter said calmly, lifting his chin into the air defiantly. "Say his name, dad. Be brave."

Far from gaining courage, Homer looked absolutely gob-smacked. "Don't _say_ that name," he whispered, horrified. "You don't know how much suffering that name caused—"

"Looks like Lara and I get our nerve from the MacMillan side of the family," Walter spat. Even with all the fights they'd had, Lara had never seen Walter look at their dad the way he was now; a mixture of disgust and disappointment.

"Boys, please," Pamela suddenly spoke, reaching towards her son pleadingly. "We can't fall out at a time like this—"

"We can when dad's being a complete prat," Walter snipped, stepping away from his parents.

"He's _scared_ ," Pamela said, close to tears. "We all are. If You-Know-Who is back—"

" _Voldemort_."

Pamela flinched dramatically. "I—yes. If he's back, it…it changes everything. The whole world in in danger. It's _terrifying_ —"

"DON'T YOU THINK WE'RE ALL SCARED?" Walter exploded, so suddenly even Lara jumped. "EVERYONE'S FRIGHTENED! BUT YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE SCARED? YOU _FIGHT_. YOU DON'T SIT AROUND AND DO _NOTHING_."

"Or disgrace the names of people fighting on your behalf," Lara said, throwing Walter a warning look. He huffed and began to take deep, calming breaths. "Why would Harry Potter and Dumbledore put themselves into the firing line like this? Why would they risk their reputations if they didn't believe in what they were saying? They're fighting for _freedom_ , for _your_ freedom, and all you're doing is slandering their name to make yourself feel better."

Homer looked utterly stunned and he was staring at Lara as if he'd never seen her before. She couldn't blame him; she'd spent her whole life being the peacekeeper of the family. Things she was passionate about, like the treatment of animals and muggle-born rights, she spoke up about, but with silly things she usually spent her time telling her dad and her brother they needed to listen to each other more. It never worked, of course, but she was always respectful.

This was different. This—Harry, Dumbledore, _Walter_ —she believed in it so much she _ached_. Like Walter had said, she was scared, utterly terrified, especially after Cedric's death, but she wanted to fight. She wanted change. She wanted to make the boy with the crooked smile proud, to make his death _worth_ something.

"You're a joke," Walter spat towards his parents. "Both of you. And I'm done."

He stormed upstairs without looking back. For a moment, Lara stared at her parents; her dad looked dazed and her mam had begun to cry. Not out of sadness, but because she knew, deep down, that Walter was right. Homer's articles may seem superficial, but if people were actually listening to them and Voldemort returned, they'd have a population of underprepared wizards and, therefore, more fatalities than there needed to be. The Ministry needed to _prepare_ people, they needed to make a population of warriors ready to defend themselves against the worst kind of evil, and instead people were at home thinking they were safe while evil hid in the shadows, waiting for them, anticipating the moment they put their guards down…

Lara sighed and turned on her heels, following her brother up the stairs. She expected to find him laid on his bed or pacing his bedroom, but instead he was rumbling around and throwing things into a trunk. He'd obviously magically altered the luggage, as he was throwing in not only clothes, but lamps, chairs and other furniture.

" _What_ are you doing?" Lara gasped.

Walter didn't stop moving as he replied, "I'm packing. I'm leaving this place."

"You're _leaving_?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "I didn't tell you 'cause I wanted it to be a surprise, but I bought a place near the lakes. I got it for a steal 'cause it's pretty run down, but it's habitable."

Lara sucked in a sharp, hurt breath. She knew this day would come eventually—Walter had been saving up for years to get his own place—but she hadn't expected it _now_ , especially after that argument. How was she going to live here alone with her parents, with all the awkwardness hanging over them and the elephant in the room, with her dad looking at her like she was a Blast-Ended Skrewt—

"Well?" Walter suddenly said, turning to Lara with raised eyebrows.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you gunna pack?"

"For what?"

Walter stared at her in confusion, but Lara couldn't help him—she was confused, too.

"You think I'm going to _leave_ you here?" he suddenly laughed. "The place is _two bedroomed_ , idiot. Go get your stuff."

"But…" Lara began, despite the fact she felt excitement building in her chest. "I can't afford a place in the _lakes_ —"

"On an assistant's salary? Of course you can't. But you _can_ afford ten galleons a week, which is all I'm asking for."

"Are you _sure_?"

"Course I am. I worked out all the finance stuff ages ago," he shrugged. "Plus, living alone won't be as much fun. So go pack!"

Beaming at her brother, Lara rushed off towards her bedroom and opened her trunk, which she magically altered before throwing her stuff inside. After ten minutes, the only things left in her bedroom were the large furniture items and the walls. She grabbed her luggage, and her owl, Fudge, before stepping onto the landing, where Walter was already waiting.

"Ready?" he asked.

Lara nodded and they headed downstairs. Their parents were sat at the dining table now, near the doorway to the kitchen, and Pamela leapt to her feet instantly. "What's going on?" she asked shakily.

"We're moving out," Walter responded calmly. "I've got a place near the Lake's."

"Since _when_?"

"Since last year," Walter barely reacted to his dad's scandalised tone. "I didn't tell you because I knew you'd just complain about it. But I don't care anymore, so I'll see you around, I guess."

He stepped into the fireplace with some floo powder, throwing it to the floor as he said, "Fuchsia Cottage, Kendal, Lake District," and disappeared.

Lara sighed once he was gone. "He'll calm down…eventually," she said. "Just give him some time."

"B-but you're leaving with him?" Pamela cried.

"Yeah," Lara replied evenly. "Of course I am."

"You don't have to," Homer spoke up from the table, where he sat with bloodshot eyes. "You can stay here, save up for your own place."

"I don't disagree with what he said, dad," Lara replied. "He just didn't put it across the way he should have, but I don't blame him. He's been saying for years that Voldemort would come back and he's prepared himself for the fight."

Her parents flinched simultaneously at the name. Lara sighed again and walked towards the fireplace with her trunk.

"The Ministry has too much power," Homer blurted out, standing up to stare at his daughter. "They're destroying anyone that doesn't agree with them. They fired _three_ of my co-workers the other day because they refused to write articles about Dumbledore. I have to be smart, Lara. I can't lose my job or the house or—"

"It's not what you're writing, dad. It's that you _believe_ what you're writing. If we came here demanding an explanation and you said you _had_ to do it or you'd lose your job, we'd understand," Lara tiredly ran a hand through her hair. "But you're choosing to believe the Ministry instead. And if you believe the Ministry, you _don't_ believe Harry and Dumbledore, which means you don't believe Walter, which means…you don't believe me, either."

"But he's being completely illogical—"

"Maybe," Lara agreed with a shrug. "Maybe he's being dramatic. Maybe he needs to think about it from your point of view. But…that doesn't matter. Nothing does. I'm _always_ going to be on Walter's side."

Because he was more than her brother—he was her _best_ friend, her shoulder to cry on, her biggest supporter, her voice of reason. He was the one that taught her blood-purity didn't matter, that _all_ lives mattered, even the smallest, least understood ones, that looking stupid and being loud didn't matter if it was for the _right_ reasons. She dreaded to think what she'd be without him; would be like David Brentford, so big-headed about her heritage and so caught up in other people's opinions that she forgot how to be a decent human-being?

She floo'ed to Walter's (and _her_ ) house, landing in a relatively small fireplace and placing the owl cage onto the floor. In front of her was a rectangular room with a wooden floor and unpainted walls, no furniture in sight. To her right, she could see an archway leading to a rectangular kitchen and a glass door leading to a back garden. In front of her, an open door led to a staircase, which she decided to go up to find Walter.

She came to a bare landing with a door on her immediate left. There were two more doors down the corridor behind her, one on the back wall, the other on the right-hand wall. The door on the back wall was open, showing a medium-sized bedroom painted in a dark red. Walter was stood in the middle already unpacking his things. Figuring the other door must be her bedroom, she opened it and stepped inside.

Like the rooms downstairs, it was longer than it was wide. At the end of the bedroom was a double bed pressed against the right wall, a bedside table tucked into the small space on the left. An oak wardrobe was set along the other wall, just behind the door. The walls were painted a light pink, like her bedroom at home, but everything else was bare.

Dumping her trunk in the room, she walked over to Walter's door and leant against the frame. Walter looked up and grinned.

"We need to go shopping," Lara said, smirking.

"For food?"

"For _everything_ ," Lara replied. "But for now I'll settle for food and bedding. Come on."

* * *

They found themselves at a muggle store called _Asda_ , where they stocked up on tinned goods, the everyday basics, such as deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, etc, and they also got some luxuries, including bedding, plates, cups and a handful of cutlery. Having walked to the store, they had to carry everything back to the house in plastic bags and Lara realised for the first time why is was called _Fuchsia Cottage._

"It's very _pink_ ," she said, looking at the semi-detached cottage. Next to it, there was an identical house, though that one was painted yellow.

"I thought you liked pink."

"I do," she eyed the cottage wearily. "I just feel like there should be a limit."

Walter laughed as he pushed open the front door. They dropped the bags into the living room, and Walter used magic to dispense everything around the house. With no furniture to sit on, Lara collapsed onto the ground, pulled out her wand and muttered, "Accio letters."

This turned out to be a mistake; at least a hundred letters raced down the stairs and at Lara, who squealed and held up her arms to protect her face. In the background, Walter was letting Fudge out of his cage and walking into the kitchen, probably to feed the owl.

Lara began to search through her mail. They were from her friends, though most were signed in messy handwriting with signs off such as; _Smell ya later, Fred. This letter will self-destruct in 10 seconds, Fred. P.s Joking! Your favourite prankster, Fred. Your best ever snog partner, Fred._ Lara grinned as she began to read his first letter, sent only three days after she left England. He talked mostly about his family, most obviously George, though Ginny was mentioned a lot, too. Lara was barely at the end of the letter when the fireplace suddenly glowed green.

"Bloody hell, look at your _tan_!" Erin Goodwin squeaked, appearing before Lara and staring down at her with wide blue eyes.

"Erin?" Lara said in confusion. "What're you doing here?"

"Nice to see you, too, mate. Yeah, I missed you. Yes, I've been busy, thanks for asking—"

Erin's sarcastic ranting was cut off by the fire, which glowed again. This time, Omar Shafiq stepped out, quickly followed by Stanley Thruston.

"Bloody hell, when you say you have nothing here, you really have _nothing_ here," Stan whistled as he glanced around the room. His eyes landed on Lara and he smiled widely. "Hey La! Been a while!"

"Stan," Lara almost choked on the air in shock. "Omar, holy crap."

Coming to her senses, Lara got up and brought her three friends into a hug. She hadn't seen them since the 1st of July, where they said goodbye to each other on Platform 9 ¾. After spending everyday with them for seven years at school, it had been weird to be away from them for so long.

"Walter invited us," Erin answered Lara's previous question. "Just sent us all a letter. He said you needed cheering up."

"Me cheering up? He argued with our parents, too."

"Yeah, but you know what Walt's like. He won't feel bad for weeks, but you'll instantly feel guilty," Omar said, sinking to the hardwood floor.

He was right, of course. Lara already felt hideous for the way she'd left things with her parents. Walter, however, wouldn't feel anything for at least a month, at which point he'd get a gnawing feeling in his gut and apologise…at least, that was normally what happened. Lara wasn't so sure he was going to say sorry this time. She wasn't sure if even _she_ would say sorry.

"This was a different kind of fight," Lara said, falling cross-legged beside Omar. "This was about Dumbledore and Harry Potter. Have you seen my dad's articles?"

Her three friends exchanged looks and Lara knew the answer.

"Well, yeah," Stan said eventually, shrugging. "But we didn't take much notice. He's not the only one jumping on the bandwagon. Most people who remember the First War are refusing to believe he's back."

"My parents think it's a load of tosh," Omar said. "Think Dumbledore's gone mad, believing a fifteen-year-old. I've tried to talk to them, but…"

Stan looked slightly sheepish. "My parents believe Dumbledore, but that's only because my grandma's on good terms with McGonagall, who's a Dumbledore supporter all the way. What my grandma says goes in my family."

"And my parents don't even know who Dumbledore is," smirked Erin. "So nothing to worry about there."

Walter returned from the kitchen with a large bag of crisps. Handing the food over to Lara, he sat on the floor and said, "What we talking about?"

"Dumbledore," answered Lara. "And people from the First War. Omar's parents don't believe Dumbledore, either."

She said this in an accusing way, hoping her 'so go easy on mam and dad' point would sink into his brain. Walter, however, just nodded.

"I can't believe the _Prophet_ are being so awful to Harry," Erin said, reaching into the crisps bag. "He's only a kid and they're saying some awful things about him. If it happened in the muggle world, people would be kicking up a right fuss about his treatment."

"The wizarding world thinks they own Harry, though," Stan shrugged. "Like; _oh you saved us, so you're_ ours _to judge and talk about now_."

"We've heard about him for so long that everyone feels like they know him," Omar said. "Like he's part of the family. My mum talks about him like he's a distant cousin or something, all disappointed and shit. It's weird."

"Talking of weird shit," Lara said through a mouthful of crisps. "Where's Mandy? Did you invite her?"

"Of course I invited her!" Walter responded indignantly.

Erin, Stan and Omar shared another one of their secretive looks. Lara rolled her eyes and said, "Stop _doing_ that. What's happened to Amanda?"

"She's _depressed_ ," Erin blurted out, as if she'd been waiting months to say something, which, to be fair, she probably had. "We hardly see her anymore."

"She stopped coming to the pub about a month ago," Stan mumbled in agreement. "We started to meet every Friday after you left, 'cause we realised it was the only way we'd see each other. She was proper into it at first, but then she got quieter and quieter, then she stopped turning up all together."

Omar looked slightly angry as he said, "She doesn't really reply to letters, either. I've sent at least three that she hasn't replied to."

"I think it's because she was struggling to find a job," Erin murmured, awkwardly lacing her fingers together. "I think she felt weird when we talked about what we were doing and stuff."

"What do you mean she's struggling to find a job?" Lara asked. "Didn't she get good N.E.W.T.S. results?"

"No, she got great results," replied Stan. "She just doesn't know what she wants to go into."

"She had a job at Flourish and Blotts, then Madam Malkin's, then the Cauldron Shop. She kept leaving them after about three weeks. Said none of them felt right."

"Her latest one was becoming a broom maker," Erin said. "But she left about two weeks in—said the polish gave her a headache."

"So, now I think she's not doing anything," Stan shrugged. "She just hides herself in her bedroom at home and refuses to come out."

Lara frowned. "Do you think she'd come out if I sent her a letter?"

"Oh, yeah!" Erin cried, clapping her hands together. "Ask her to come to the pub next Friday as a 'welcome home' thing. She'll definitely make the effort."

Omar looked uncertain. "I mean, it's worth a shot."

"I'll send her one tomorrow."

"Great," Stan grinned and reached for the bag of crisps. "So anyway, apart from getting disowned by relatives and moving into houses without furniture, what's everyone been up to?"

* * *

The start of OotP! This part of the story will focus more on Lara and the start of the war away from Hogwarts-with some Fred here and there.

I've also been reading your reviews (which are wonderful, by the way, thank you so much!) and there was one that hit me-the world is a very crappy place right now and this website is my escape, too. So, like, as much as it goes against my nature...screw canon. Fred lives. We're all getting the ending we want and deserve. It doesn't change anything except the ending, and I get to write a nice one so I'm happy. If people want the sad ending I can still write both, somehow. I'll figure it out.

Also! Fic recs: anything by BlueKat is a masterpiece (still being updated). Just Another Slytherin by Carolina Flint (finished). Breezy by NeroLieto (still being updated) if you prefer something a little more non-canon, but still sticks to the main structure of HP. Unconditionally by chocolatecheesecakes (unfinished). lol I could go on for hours, there's so many amazing stories out there. let me know when you want more to keep you busy.


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